Distance
by woods2006gal
Summary: Sixth in Addison Sloan series. For the past year, the trio has been living separate lives. Dean's been living with Lisa and Ben while Sam and Addison have been hunting with the Campbells. What happens when they start hunting together again?
1. Exile on Main Street

Chapter 01 - Exile on Main Street

Dean groans as he slowly wakes up. He feels a familiar hand on his shoulder, pushing him down. "You need to take it easy, Dean." He opens his eyes and finds Addison sitting next to him. She looked different from when he last saw her over a year ago.

"Addison," Dean disbelievingly asks. She smiles at him. "What the fuck happened to your hair?"

Addison rolls her eyes. Her hair now fell below her ears. And instead of copper red that he was secretly fond of, her hair was now a bleach blond. "Nice to see you too," she mutters.

"Hey, Dean." Dean sits up and stares in disbelief. Sam was sitting across the dark room. Sam chuckles and stands up. "I was expecting, uh, I don't know, a hug, some holy water in the face — something."

"So, I'm dead," Dean asks, staring at his brother. Sam chuckles and Addison shoots him an unamused look. "This is Heaven? Yellow Eyes killed me and now—"

"Yellow Eyes? That's what you saw?"

Dean frowns. "Saw?"

Addison sighs. "You were poisoned. Whatever you think that you've been seeing, it isn't real."

Dean blinks. "So, then, are you…real? Or — or am I still—"

"I'm real," Sam interrupts. "Here, let me save you the trouble." He takes out a silver switchblade and cuts his forearm. Dean watches as his brother cuts open a salt shell and pours it in a jug of water with a rosary before drinking some. "All me. That's nasty."

Dean stands up. "Sammy?"

"Yeah. It's me."

Dean walks over to him and tightly embraces his brother. He couldn't believe that Sam was here. "Wait a minute, wait a minute," Dean says, pulling back. "You — you — you were — you were gone, man. I mean, that — that was it. How the hell are you—"

"I don't know," Sam confesses.

"What do you mean you don't know," Dean demands. He glances at Addison and she shrugs in response.

"I mean, no idea. I-I'm just back."

"Well, was it God or — or — or Cas? I mean, does Cas know anything about it?"

"You tell me. I've been calling. Cas hasn't answered my prayers. I don't even know where he is. I mean, I was…down there, and then, next minute, it's raining, and I'm lying in that field, alone. It's kind of hard to go looking for whatever saved you when you got no leads. But I looked. I mean, believe me, we looked…for weeks."

Dean frowns. "Wait, weeks? How long you been back?" Sam remains silent. "How long you been back, Sam?"

"About a year."

"About a year!?"

"Dean—"

"You been back practically this whole time? What, did you lose to ability to send a fucking text message?"

"You finally had what you wanted, Dean."

"I wanted my brother, alive!"

"You wanted a family. You have for a long time, maybe the whole time. I know you. You only gave it up because of the way we lived. But you had something and you were building something. Had I shown up, Dean, you would have just run off. I'm sorry. But it felt like after everything, you deserve some regular life."

Dean turns to where Addison was sitting on the thread bare cot. "Did you know?"

Addison sighs. "Yes."

"You knew this whole time and you didn't tell me! Did the fucking bleach soak into your brain, Addison?!"

Addison tenses. "Dean, you were out."

Dean shakes his head. "What have you guys been doing?"

"Hunting," Sam answers.

"You left me alone and you were two out hunting alone?"

"Not alone."

"What?"

"We hooked up with some other people."

"You're working with strangers?"

"They're more like family. And they're here."

Addison stands up and follows the boys into an adjoining room. A woman with shoulder length brown hair stands up and walks over to them. "Hey," she greets.

"Hi," Dean replies, glancing between Sam and Addison.

"My God, you have delicate features for a hunter."

"Excuse me?"

"Dean, Gwen Campbell," Sam introduces.

"Good to finally meet you. Sam and Addison have gone on and on."

"And this is Christian," Sam continues, motioning to where a man with brown hair was sitting on a table. "And Mark." He motions to where another man was sitting next to the table, cleaning a gun. "Campbell."

"Hi," Dean replies, shaking Christian's hand. "Cam — Campbell? Like…"

"Like your mom," Christian says.

"Third cousin," Sam explains, pointing to Gwen. He points to Christian. "Third Cousin." Sam points to Mark. "Something, something twice removed. They grew up in the life, like Mom and like us."

"I thought all of Mom's relatives were dead. And I'm sorry. It's just, you know, why didn't we know about any of you?"

"Cause they didn't know about you. Not until I brought you all together," a familiar voice says.

Dean turns to see an older, bald man enter the room. "Samuel?"

"Come here," Samuel says, pulling Dean into a hug.

"Guys, give me a second with my grandsons here, please," Samuel asks, turning to Gwen, Christian, and Mark. Addison exchanges a look with Sam as silence falls over the hunter. Samuel sighs as he moves closer to Dean. "Lot of resurrections in your face today. It's all right. Take a minute."

"It's gonna take a little more than a minute. I mean, what the hell? H-how did this happen," Dean asks, looking between his brother and grandfather.

"We're guessing whatever pulled Sam up, pulled me down," Samuel replies.

"So, whatever this is, we're both a part of it," Sam reasons.

"But you don't know what that is," Dean clarifies.

Samuel nods. "Bingo."

"And you have no leads? Nothing?" Dean shakes his head. "Well, this — this is, uh, no more doornails coming out of that door, is there?"

"No," Addison answers. "I mean, as far as we know it's just them."

"Okay. Am I the only one here that — that — that thinks that this can't all just be fine?"

"Believe me, you're not," Samuel says and Dean stares in disbelief. "I wanted to come get you, of course. Sam was adamant about leaving you out, so we did. Until this."

"Right. So, then you ended up in my garage how?"

"Ads and I got hit before you did, few days ago," Sam tells him. "Dosed up with poison."

"By?"

"A couple of djinn," Addison replies.

"Djinn? I thought those were — were cave dwelling hermit type. That's pretty exotic."

"Not anymore, at least," Sam says. "These look like regular people. They can blend in. And all they got to do to kill you is touch you. Their toxins get in your system, all of a sudden you're hallucinating your worst nightmares and pretty soon you o.d."

"Well, then how are you two breathing air?"

"Samuel had a cure."

"You got a cure for djinn poison?"

"Oh, I know a few things," Samuel responds with a smile. "Stick around, I'll show you tricks your daddy never even dreamed of."

"Uh, okay, what are these things after us?"

"You did kill one a few years ago," Addison says. "After they came after us, we were pretty sure that they were gonna go after you next."

"Lisa and Ben — they're at the house right now. If that thing comes back—"

"It's all right," Samuel interrupts. "I already sent someone over there to watch 'em."

Dean turns to Sam and Addison. "You got to take me home right now."

* * *

The moment the Charger comes to a stop in the drive way, Dean's out of the car and running into the house. Addison and Sam climb out of the car. Addison starts towards the house, but pauses when she notices that Sam's checking out the car parked across the road. "Poor Jeff," she softly says.

"C'mon," Sam says, running towards the house. They enter the house and find Dean searching for Lisa and Ben. Dean jogs into the kitchen and grabs the phone. Addison follows him and watches as he frantically dials Lisa's cell. She stands back, knowing that there's nothing she could do to ease his worry. The back door opens and the hunters turn to see Lisa and Ben enter.

"Where the hell have you been," Dean demands, pulling Lisa and Ben into a tight embrace.

"We — we were at the movies. You knew that," Lisa replies. "Dean, owe."

"What happened," Ben questions after Dean releases them.

"Go upstairs and pack a bag," Dean tells them.

"Where are we going?"

"I'm taking us to a friend's house. Go."

"It's okay. Go on up. I'll be there in a sec," Lisa tells her son, patting his shoulder.

A door closes behind her and Addison turns to see Sam. "Um," Ben says, staring at Sam and Addison.

"Oh my God," Lisa says.

Dean sighs. "Lisa, Ben, I don't know if you remember—"

"Sam and Addison."

* * *

Addison sighs as she watches the sunrise over the passing scenery. She and Sam were following behind Dean's truck, which was headed towards to Bobby's. "He's not pissed at you," Sam says, breaking the silence that had settled over the Charger.

"He's beyond pissed at me," Addison replies. "I lied to him for a year about you, Sam."

"Because I asked you to. And in time, he'll realize that it was the best thing for him."

"And how would you feel if you were in Dean's place?"

"I wouldn't be pissed."

A cell phone rings and Sam grabs the phone out of the cup holder. He flashes the screen at Addison. "I don't want to talk to him," she softly says, turning her gaze back out the window.

Sam sighs. "Yeah," he answers. "No, she's asleep. Addison sleeps like a rock. Yeah, I'll let her know. Yeah, you too, man." He hangs up and drops the phone back in the cup holder. "You're going to have to talk to him eventually, Ads." Addison doesn't say anything as she keeps her gaze out of the window.

A couple of hours later, they pull up in front of Bobby's house. Dean's truck was already there. Sam and Addison make their way into Bobby's house as they hear Lisa and Ben walk up stairs. "So," Dean asks.

"Hey, Bobby," Sam greets.

"Sam. Addison," Bobby replies.

Dean frowns and looks between the older hunter and his brother. "You knew," he asks as they move into the kitchen. "You knew Sam was alive."

Bobby sighs, closing the door. "Yeah."

"How long?"

"Look—"

"How long?"

"All year."

Dean looks between the three of them. "Oh, you got to be kidding me."

"And I'd do it again."

"Why?"

"Because you got out, Dean! You walked away from the life. And I was so damn grateful, you got no idea."

"Do you have any clue what walking away meant for me?"

"Yeah, a woman and a kid and not getting your guts ripped out at age thirty. That's what it meant."

"That woman and that kid — I went to them because you asked me to," Dean says, pointing at Sam and Addison.

"Good," Bobby defends.

"Good for who? I showed up on their doorstep half out of my head with grief. God knows why they even let me in. I drank too much. I had nightmares. I looked everywhere. I collected hundreds of books, trying to find anything to bust you out."

"You promised you'd leave it alone," Sam says.

"Of course, I didn't leave it alone! Sue me! A damn year? You couldn't put me out of my fucking misery?"

"Look, I get it wasn't easy. But that's life! And it's as close to happiness as I've ever seen a hunter get. It ain't like I wanted to lie to you, son. But you were out, Dean." Booby argues.

"Do I look out to you?"

Dean shoots Sam and Addison a final look before walking out of the kitchen. Addison quickly makes her way out of the back of the Bobby's house. "Everything's gonna be fine," Sam says, walking up behind her.

Addison sighs. "Yeah, I know. This just…sucks."

Sam chuckles as he pulls her against his chest. "You need to relax," he mutters, pressing his lips against hers. His hands slide under her shirt and she can't help but kiss back. Things between them had certainly changed over the last year. And there were times when she wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

A throat clears and they pull away to see Dean. "We ready," he asks as Addison avoids his gaze.

"Yeah," Sam replies, becoming all about the job. Addison stands there for a second, then walks over to the Charger.

* * *

"So, what's the plan," Dean asks as they walk into the Campbell compound. Samuel and the rest of the Campbells were gearing up to go after the djinn. Sam walks over and gets to work on going through the weapons sitting on the table.

"Well, right now, we stock up, get set," Samuel replies.

"So, you're saying there is no plan."

"We'll find 'em. Just got to be patient."

"Yeah, okay. Oh, here's an alt. Why don't we go kill the sons of bitches that broke into my home?"

"Relax, Dean. We got it handled. Djinn are hard to draw out," Christian tells him. "Now, you've been out of the game for a while. Leave it to the professionals."

"Yeah. Sure. Tiny suggestion. You see, djinn are easier to draw out when you got bait. They want Sam, me, and Ads. They know where I live. Now, I haven't been hunting in a while, but I'm gonna stick my neck out and guess that's a pretty good place for us to go. See? It's almost like I'm a professional." Addison watches as the Campbells try to fight back the smiles. She glances at Sam and finds him impassive. She sighs as she grabs a gun off the table.

* * *

The group of hunters quickly make their way to Dean's house and set up shop. While the others had no problem with setting up, Addison had felt awkward being in the house. She had stood back and watched the others while Dean was protective over the house. "You okay," Sam asks when Addison walks out of the bathroom.

"Fine," Addison softly replies. Sam nods and she follows him back down into the living room. Samuel was standing by a table, with a map of the area spread out on it.

"Those djinn are just sitting out there, watching us," Dean announces, walking through the front door. "Everybody's got to clear out."

Samuel frowns. "What?"

"They're not gonna come in here until me, Sam, and Ads are alone."

"So, what, I'm supposed to leave you here with no backup?"

"Dean's right," Sam says. "They're smart. They'd wait till they weren't outnumbered."

Samuel sighs with realization that the boys were right. "All right, we won't be far. You call when they come, you hear?"

"You bet."

"All right, pack up. We're out of here," Samuel says, walking over to the Campbells.

* * *

Addison lightly smiles as she looks over the photos of Dean with Lisa and Ben. It was obvious that Dean was happy. Through it hurt, she knew that deep down she had made the right choice. "You okay," Sam asks as Dean enters the kitchen.

Dean scoffs. "Oh, yeah. Yeah. No, this is — this is crazy. I mean, you, Grandpa. Whoever brought you back—"

"They don't want to be found."

"Yeah, I get that. But who are they, and what do they — what do they want? Why?"

"That's a good question."

"Do you remember it?"

"What?"

"The cage."

"Yeah."

"You want to—"

"No."

"Well, if anybody can relate—"

"Dean, I don't want to talk about it. I'm back. I get to breathe fresh air, have a beer, hunt with my family, see you again. So why exactly would I want to think about Hell?"

"And you really think…" Dean trails as he moves towards the window. Addison looks out the window and sees a family across the yard getting attacked by the djinn. Dean rushes over to a duffle bag and grabs two syringes of the cure Samuel had made.

"Dean, they're already dead and you know it."

"This is happening because of me!"

"Dean," Addison shouts as he runs out of the house.

"Go," Sam orders and Addison takes off after Dean.

Addison runs into the neighbors house and finds Dean checking the bodies of his neighbors. He glances up at her and she sighs. "Dean, I'm sorry," she tells him.

Suddenly, arms grab Addison and she struggles against the djinns hold. Another djinn had grabbed Dean, causing him to drop the syringes on the ground. A brunette woman walks over to them. "You made it through that last trip, so how about a big, fat double dose," the djinn asks. She grabs Dean's chin as a blue tattoo snakes up her arm. "Bad news — it'll kill you. The good news? At least you'll go fast. That's for our father, you son of a bitch."

"Dean," Addison shouts, struggling against the djinn's hold. The djinn wraps a hand around her throat and she watches as blue tattoos snake up his bare forearm. Addison's eyes roll back in her head and the djinn drops her on the floor. The djinn holding Dean releases him and he falls to the floor.

* * *

Addison gasps as she sits up in the back seat of a car. A gentle hand grabs her shoulder and she blinks to find Patrick kneeling next to the car. "Whoa, whoa, take it easy," he softly says. He picks up a bottle of water and holds it out to her.

"What — what are you doing here," Addison asks.

"Samuel called me, told me about you guys going after the djinn. I figured this was the best way to get you to talk to me."

"Where's Sam?"

"He stayed back to check on Dean." Patrick sighs. "Look, Addison, I know things aren't good between us—"

"You lied to me," Addison angrily snaps. "You made think that you were dead for ten years, Dad. It's not that easy to forgive."

"I know. And I'm sorry. But I'm just asking that you give me a chance."

Addison stares at her father. Her life had been turned upside down when he had waltzed back into her life seven months ago. Samuel had been the one of the find Patrick. "Why'd you do it," she softly asks. It had been the one question she had wanted to know since he had showed up.

"Because I thought I was protecting you, Addison."

Addison frowns. "Protecting me from what?"


	2. Two and a Half Men

Chapter 02 - Two and a Half Men

"I'm fine," Addison says into her iPhone as she climbs out of Sam's Charger. She wore a black bandage dress and a black blazer with a pair of heels. "I'm thirty-two and have been hunting for the past ten years. I do know how to do my job." She rolls her eyes. "What? I-I can't. You-you're breaking up." She hangs up and shoves her phone in the pocket of the blazer. She ignores the amused look on Sam's face as they walk up to the crime scene.

Addison smiles as a uniformed officer walks over to her. "Um, the detectives aren't talking to the press," he states.

"Then it's a good thing we're not a reporters," Addison replies, pulling out a badge. "Special Agent Cooper, FBI. This is Agent Plant. We're here to help with the investigation because there's been a string of murders across New York identical to this one."

The officer's eyes widen. "I'll go get a detective."

Addison watches as the officer runs off as she tucks her badge in her blazer pocket. "So, you and Patrick are doing okay," Sam asks.

"It's a work in progress. I don't fully trust him. I mean, he faked his death and spent ten years lying to me. I don't want him to be a big part of my life right now, but he is my dad. I don't know, it's weird." She looks up at Sam. "What do you think?"

"I think you're right to be cautious, Ads. Did he say why?"

"He said he thought he was protecting me."

"Protecting you from what?"

"He wouldn't say."

"Agents," the detective greets, walking up to them.

"I'm Agent Cooper. This is my partner, Agent Plant. So, what can you tell us about the crime scene, detective," Addison questions.

"Parents were murdered and their baby was kidnapped," the detective explains, leading them towards the house.

"Where'd you find them," Sam asks.

"We found the parents upstairs. Pretty brutal."

"Was it a break in," Addison asks.

The detective shakes his head. "No. The alarm never went off."

"Any leads on the baby," Sam questions.

"None yet."

"So, what do you think? Think it's okay? Alive?"

"I did yesterday."

"Well, then, I hope you don't mind if we take a look around," Addison says, then ducks under the police tape.

It's while she's searching the baby's nursery, that Sam walks in. "Find anything," he asks. Addison stares at the empty crib. The blankets were discarded to the side, as if someone had hastily grabbed the baby.

Addison shakes her head as she shoves the EMF meter in her blazer pocket. "No, I didn't find anything. There's no EMF anywhere, no sulfur. I'm thinking that this is some normal psycho."

Sam nods in agreement. "Same here."

* * *

"All right, here," Addison says. They were sitting on a park bench with Sam looking through a file and her on her new Macbook. She couldn't help but wonder who Sam had called after they left the crime scene, but remained quiet. "All of the families here did have a Harper Caine Security system. And according to the client records, there's another couple with a six month old baby."

"What's the address," Sam asks, closing the file.

Addison turns her laptop to him and he nods, before closing it. "Did Samuel have any leads?"

"No. And neither did Patrick." She shoots him a confused look. "He called me. When we finish this job, we're meeting up with him for dinner."

"Why?"

"Because he's your dad and he's being over protective."

"Why didn't you ask me, Sam?"

"It's not like we have plans. Besides, Ads, if you want Patrick to back off, then you need to give him a reason to back off. Spend time catching up with him, show him that you're fine, and we'll use it to find out what he knows." Addison shoots him an annoyed look. Sam pulls her into a kiss. "I promise to make it up to you."

"You better," Addison mutters, shooting him a smile.

* * *

Sam's Charger pulls up in front of a house in the suburbs. The neighborhood was quiet. They climb out and Sam opens the trunk to grab their weapons. Once loaded, they walk across the street. Sam picks the lock and they quietly enter the house. A man is sitting in an arm chair, with his throat slit and covered in blood. Another a body, a woman, was lying on the ground. Bloodied footprints were leading away from the bodies and they follow them. A man wearing a security guard uniform tackles Sam to the floor. Addison slashes the man's arm and it sizzles. He shoves her away and runs out out of the house before either of them can realize what happened.

Sam stands up and they continue searching the house. Sam stays downstairs while Addison makes her way upstairs. She's searching a bedroom when someone enters the room. She turns and sees Sam standing there, with a baby. She blinks. "What?" He shrugs.

It's when they back in the Charger, speeding down a highway and with a baby strapped in the carseat they had taken from the house, that Addison shakes her head. "This makes no sense," she says. She frowns, watching him dial someone. "Who are you calling?"

"Dean," Sam replies.

Addison's gaze widens. "What? No! No, no, no, no!" She reaches for the phone, but he moves it out of her reach. "Sam, no! We don't need Dean for this."

"We need help, Addison."

"Fine. Then let's go to Samuel."

"Dean's closer."

"He's in Indiana, not Michigan."

"They moved. Ads, it's either Dean or I call Patrick for help." Addison rolls her eyes and looks out the window. "I need your help. Now. I'm working this job...Look, I just need you with me on this. Okay? Make an exception. Look, I'm thirty minutes away and I will drive to your door if you don't meet me." Sam glances at Addison, then at the baby in the back seat. "A baby."

* * *

Sam watches as Addison paces around the side of the road where they were waiting for Dean to arrive. "Look, Ads, it's just Dean. There's no need for you to be nervous," he tells her. Addison stops and stares at him. "What?"

"'It's just Dean,'" Addison disbelievingly repeats. "You know, he's still pissed at me."

Sam pulls her against his chest. "Ads, it's been two months. He's not pissed at you."

"Really? Did he tell that he moved?"

"Yeah. Are you going to tell him about Patrick?"

"No. Dean's just helping out, so there's no reason for him to know."

It's a short while later when a pickup pulls up in front of them. Addison steels herself when Dean climbs out of the truck. Dean looks at his younger brother. "Where is it?"

"Strapped down in the backseat," Sam tells him. Dean walks past them and looks into the backseat of the Charger where the baby was sitting in a car seat.

* * *

Addison pulls her hair into a ponytail as Dean drives up to the abandoned power station. She and Sam had waited there while Dean went to get some stuff he needed and to talk to Lisa. "All right, so what do we know about this," Dean asks, grabbing his bag out of the bed of the truck.

"Well, uh, it was fast. And it freaked when Ads cut it with silver," Sam explains.

"All right. So that narrows it down to..."

"Ghoul, zombie, shifter, or about a dozen other things," Addison finishes.

"I don't recall seeing babynapping in the profiles."

"Yeah. Exactly," Sam agrees.

Dean and Addison both go to climb into the front seat of the Charger. "I'm older," Dean argues.

"By a month and a half," Addison counters. She holds up a fist. "Play for it?"

After beating Dean twice, Addison climbs into the front while Dean gets in the back. He looks at the six month old baby. "Well, feel free to speak up if you know anything."

Sam starts the car and an alarm goes off. He looks at Dean. "Seatbelt."

"What am I, in third grade? A car should drive, not be a little bitch." The baby makes noises and the trio looks at him. Addison wrinkles her nose when the baby farts. "Yeah, don't take it personal," Dean tells him.

"We need to get supplies," Addison says.

"I got an arsenal in the trunk, Ads," Sam tells her.

Addison rolls her eyes. "Baby supplies, Sam."

* * *

Addison frowns as she looks over the baby supplies aisle. She grabs a box of diapers and drops it in the cart. They were so many brands of diapers and formula and food that it was hard to pick. "Yeah, um, I have no what else what need," she says. "Well, besides food."

"All right, I'm pretty sure there's some kind of paste or jelly you're supposed to put on their butt," Dean says.

"Like, uh..." Sam grabs a box off a shelf with 'Butt Paste' on the label. "Like that?"

"Yeah. Grab that."

Addison tosses a packet of wipes in the cart. "So how do you know all this," Sam questions his brother.

"Uh, Lisa's got a baby niece. So I've been on a few milk runs." Addison holds up to different types of baby formula with an amused smile.

"Huh," Sam comments.

"Shut it," Dean says, tossing one of the cans into cart.

"I just said 'huh.'"

"I just said 'shut it.'" The baby lets out a soft cry. "All right, we gotta get moving. We got the waterworks in like T-minus-ten." Sam and Addison make their way to the front of the store with the baby while Dean grabs more stuff.

"I'll be back in a minute," Addison tells Sam as he gets in a checkout line.

Sam's busy putting all the stuff on the counter while Dean was trying to calm the crying baby. "Come on. Hang in there, buddy. Hang in there, man."

"Dean, make it stop," Sam says.

"How?"

"Everyone's staring at us like we're child abusers. Feed it."

"We fed it."

"Then what?"

"I don't know. Do you think I speak baby? Maybe he needs a diaper change."

"Oh, God, I hope not."

Addison runs up and tosses a box of tampons onto the counter. She rolls her eyes at the looks the guys send her. "What did you guys do to him," she asks, pushing past Dean.

"Addison, make it stop," Sam tells her.

Addison shoots Sam a glare as she unbuckles and picks up the crying baby. "Hey, buddy, you don't have to cry," she says, holding the baby close. The baby starts to grow quiet and she smiles in triumph. "He must like me more."

"Aw." Dean and Addison turn to see an older woman. "What's his name."

"Bobby." "John."

Addison keeps the smile on her face as the woman raises an eyebrow. "Bobby John," she says.

"Hi, Bobby John," the woman coos. "Aren't you handsome. May I?"

Addison tightens her grip on the baby. "Uh, well, see, I just got him to settle down again. I - I'm sure all he needs is a diaper change, which he will get once we're done here."

The woman nods. "No offense, you three look exhausted. I can change him. I don't mind. Lord knows I've changed a million diapers. I wouldn't even mind looking after him for a few hours while you get some rest."

Dean chuckles, looking around. He tenses as his gaze roams over a security feed and finds the woman's eyes glowing on screen. He grabs the back of Addison's shirt and pulls her close to him. "That's a really nice offer, thank you, but, um, I think we've got it."

"Oh, it's nothing, happy to help," the woman says, moving closer to Addison and Bobby John.

"Move away from the baby before I stab you in the neck."

"Dean," Sam and Addison snap. Dean motions to the camera as he shoves Addison behind him and Sam tenses. The woman lunges at Addison, but Dean punches her. Addison takes off for the exit with Sam. The woman takes off through the store and Dean chases her. He grabs her arm and a piece of skin falls off. He continues running after her. Sam shoves the woman back then follows Addison out of the store.

Dean tackles the woman and pulls out his knife. "Help me," she shouts. "He's hurting me!"

An employee pulls Dean off the woman and Dean backs up. "Okay. All right. All right." He closes his knife and runs out of the store just as the Charger pulls up. He climbs into the back where Addison was trying to buckle in the baby and they speed off.

* * *

"The fuck does a shifter want with a baby, anyway," Dean asks, watching Addison struggle to buckle a squirming Bobby John into his car seat. He could tell that she had changed in the past year, just like he had and how Sam had.

"You tell me," Sam replies.

"And how the hell did it find us?"

"Maybe it's been following us since we left Bobby John's house," Addison suggests, finally getting Bobby John buckled in.

Dean runs a hand over his face. "All right, you know, we got to get off the road. Get Bobby John here someplace safe. Figure this thing out."

"Owe, owe, owe. Dean, a little help." Dean looks over and sees Bobby John with a fist full of Addison's hair. He helps untangle Bobby John's hand and she shoots him a thankful smile. He watches as she pulls her hair into a messy bun. Dean wasn't gonna deny that he had missed Addison. "What?"

Dean blinks. "What?"

"You've been staring at me for like five minutes," Addison tells him.

"What? No, I haven't," Dean lies. Addison stares at him, then rolls her eyes and looks out of the window.

* * *

"Okay. All right, you know what? I'll pay you money if you sit still," Dean says to the baby as he finishes changing it's diaper. Sam and Addison were currently sitting at the motel room table and going through research. Sam chuckles. "This is like diffusing an IED with poop." He picks up the baby just as it starts fussing. "You are golden, Bobby John. Time to hit the hay."

Sam shakes his head as Dean hums. "You're just gonna make it cranky again," Sam tells him.

"Shhh. It's working." The baby remains quiet. "Okay. If I put you down, you gonna be a man about it? Hmm?" Dean lays the baby in the crib as it falls asleep.

"Huh."

"What?"

"You're just, uh, actually...not awful at that."

"Dude, I'm barely keeping that thing alive."

"No, no, seriously. You got a whole Dr. Huxtable vibe coming off of you. You're, like, father material."

"Yeah, well, I kind of had to be lately, you know? Sink or swim, right?"

"You mean Ben."

"Yeah, I mean Ben," Dean answers, pouring himself a glass of whiskey. "I mean, I know he's not my kid but I don't know, I'm starting to feel like, yeah, he is." Dean chuckles. "When I think about the way we grew up...I don't know, I feel like I have a chance to do something different with Ben, you know?"

"You sure about that?"

"What do you mean?"

Sam sighs. "Look, you clearly care about the kid."

"But..."

"But moving them around, keeping them on lockdown...I mean, you do have them on lockdown, right?" Dean moves to sit on one of the beds. "How is any of that different from how we were raised?"

"So you're saying...I'm not shoving anybody into this life, okay? This is temporary."

"Dad always said it was temporary, Dean. Said it for twenty-two years. Look, I get it. You wanna watch out for them. That's great. I'm just asking, how do you do that and not turn into Dad?" A silence settles over the room.

Addison awkwardly shifts. She frowns, flipping through the file in front of her. "We are complete idiots," she groans.

"What," Dean asks.

"This house on Elm. It's just like the others except that the father wasn't living in the house at the time. He's still alive. We need to go pay this guy a visit."

"I say let's." Dean sighs, remembering the sleeping baby. "You guys go."

"You sure," Sam asks.

"Unless one of you got a badge for Bobby John, yeah, I'm sure."

Addison shakes her head and turns to Dean. "You go, I'll stay. I'm pretty tired anyway."

"Actually, it's better if you both stay," Sam says and gets two incredulous looks in return. "The shifters want the baby, it's better that you both stay."

* * *

Dean lays on the bed and closes his eyes as the Magic Fingers starts. Addison was sitting at the table, researching and Bobby John was asleep in his crib. Addison leans back and stretches and Dean can't help but watch her. "You can say it," Addison says, breaking the silence.

"Say what," Dean replies, turning his attention back to his glass of whiskey.

"That you're pissed at me for not telling you about Sam being alive."

Dean sighs as he sits up. "I was. But I get it."

"Oh?"

"What's going on with you and Sam?"

Addison frowns. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about when I saw the two of you rounding second."

Addison shifts. "I don't think that it's any of your business, Dean." A strange noise causes the hunters to exchange a look. They look over at Bobby John and find blood and bits of skin on the wall. They stand up and walk over to the crib. "Oh boy."

Dean's phone rings. "Yeah," he answers.

"I talked to the father. He checks out," Sam tells him. "But the baby…"

"Yeah."

"I think the shapeshifter is his dad."

Dean watches as Addison carefully picks up Bobby John, who now looked exactly like the baby on the box of diapers. "You think?"

Dean snaps his phone shut and grabs a towel out of the bathroom before tossing it to Addison. She wraps Bobby John up in the towel and gently rocks him, trying to calm the crying baby. "Shh. Everything's gonna be okay, Bobby John. We're not gonna let anyone hurt you.

A knock comes from the door and Addison looks at Dean. "Manager! Everything okay in there," a voice asks.

"Yeah, no, we're fine. Thank you. Good night," Dean says.

"There's been complaints. Mind opening the door, sir?"

"It's not a good time. Just got out of the shower." The door knob rattles and Addison ducks into the bathroom with Bobby John as Dean moves to stand next to the door. The door opens and Dean punches the shifter. They struggle before the shifter shoves Dean against the wall.

"Get out of the way," the shapeshifter tells him.

"Yeah, that's not going to happen," Dean coldly replies.

"That child should be with his father."

"Wow, I gotta be honest. I'm not really seeing the family resemblance."

"I'm not just talking about me. I'm talking about our father."

The shapeshifter moves to throw fist in Dean's face, but he ducks. He grabs a knife out of his back pocket and slashes the shifter across the face. The shifter throws Dean into the wall and he lands on the floor with grunt. Sam runs into the room and shoots the shifter in the back. "Well, there goes our deposit," Dean comments as Addison walks out of the bathroom with Bobby John.

* * *

"It's pretty smart, actually. I mean, Shifter poses as a guard from the security company to get near the house, then it scopes out the fam," Sam says as the Charger speeds down the dark highway. Addison was in the backseat with Bobby John while Dean sat in the passenger seat.

"Yeah, then daddy takes off and Shifter becomes daddy. A few glasses of wine, shakes mama's trees, comes back in nine months to collect its prize," Dean finishes.

"I didn't even know they had babies. I thought they were just freaks of nature, like X-Men style."

"You learn something new every day, huh?"

"I've never seen a baby monster before."

Addison frowns. "Well, he's not really a monster. He's just a baby. It's not his fault his dad's a shapeshifter."

"Right, but it's a shifter too, Ads."

"Doesn't change anything. We still have to take care of him. Though, we have to figure what to do with him."

"We actually can't drop it off at an orphanage," Dean comments. "They might get upset when it turns Asian."

"Samuel," Say says.

"What?"

"Samuel. He'll know what to do."

"You wanna bring it to a bunch of hunters?"

"Not just hunters, Dean. They're our family."

"We don't know them."

"Ads and I do. Not every hunter is a head case. I mean, Samuel is actually a lot like you, Dean."

"I'm a fucking head case."

"Well, pitch a better idea, then." Neither Dean nor Addison say anything. "Great. Samuel it is."

* * *

The Campbell Compound was an abandon factory that had been converted. "Well, aren't you just the best disguise a monster ever wore," Gwen says, lightly rubbing the baby's head. Dean tenses and moves away. "I'm kidding, Dean, relax."

Mark eyes the baby. "What, you got something to say," Dean asks. "No? All right. Well, you just stand there and think at me."

"So what's our next move," Sam asks as he walks into the room with Samuel Campbell.

"I got a couple of ideas," Samuel replies. Addison sighs when he glances at her, then he turns his attention to Dean and the baby. "Dean, let me see the little guy."

"That's all right. I got it," Dean tells him.

"What do you think I'm gonna do?"

"You really don't want me to answer that question."

"Well, I'm curious. Who exactly do you think we are," Christian asks.

"Hunters."

"Funny. Here I've been thinking we're family."

"Hey, let's not get worked up," Sam tells them.

"Yeah. Yeah, let's not."

Sam steps forward. "Here. Dean, it's fine. Let me take him. It's okay." Dean reluctantly hands over the baby to Sam, who hands it to Samuel.

"Hey, there," Samuel softly says. "Oh, you're a big fella, aren't you? Yeah. I haven't held one of these in a long time. Your mom was the tiniest. She was bald as a cue ball."

"All right. So what the hell are we gonna do with him?"

"Raise him."

Dean frowns. "Raise him?"

"You got another suggestion? It's dangerous out there for him."

"What about in here," Dean asks. "What, are we gonna study him? Poke at him?"

"Your mind goes right to torture," Christian says. "Don't assume that for everyone."

"What exactly are you trying to say?"

"Sorry, I heard about what you majored in, down in the pit."

"The fuck is your problem, man?"

Christian stands up. "You're starting to become a pain in my ass."

"Christian," Sam says, blocking him. "Take it easy, man. He's my brother."

"We all done bristling up here or what," Samuel asks. "Nobody's doing anything to him, Dean. When he's old enough, we throw it to him. He wants to volunteer to help out, that's fine."

"Could be great," Mark comments.

"How," Dean asks.

"Think of the kind of hunter he'll grow up to be."

Dean nods. "You all are joking, right? I mean, come on. You can't Angelina Jolie a shapeshifter. Give me the baby."

"Why can't you give me an inch of trust, Dean," Samuel questions.

"Maybe because you two are suddenly back from the dead and I seem to be the only one who wants to know how the hell that happened."

"You're not the only one who wants to know," Sam counters.

"There's just a little too much mystery with this family for me to get comfy."

"Then don't. But don't put it on us," Samuel replies. "All we're trying to do is invite you in. Christian?"

"Yeah," Christian replies.

"You and Arlene still no luck on the baby front?"

"Not yet, no."

"But you want one?"

Christian chuckles. "Yeah, we do."

"Wait, hold on," Dean says.

"It's okay, Dean. It's all right," Samuel tells him, handing the baby to Christian. "Congrats. It's a boy. Sometimes."

"The crap I do for this family," Christian says.

"You're kidding, right," Dean says.

"Go to Hell, Dean."

"Well, you have no business raising anything."

"Why, Dean, because he's a hunter," Sam asks.

Dogs suddenly start barking and Samuel takes the baby. "Check the back door," he orders, handing the baby to Dean. "Downstairs. Panic room. He'll be safe there. Go. We got it. Go. Now."

Addison runs downstairs with Dean and Sam. The panic room was much bigger than the one in Bobby's basement. Bobby John had started fussing due to being jostled. "Come on, Bobby John. You have got to keep quiet," Dean says.

Sounds of a fight come from above them. "That doesn't sound good," Addison comments.

"All right. I'm going up. You guys stay with the baby," Sam tells them and looks out the door. He jumps back when he sees the shapeshifter looking like him through the window.

The shapeshifter rips off the iron door and enters the room. It easily overpowers Sam and tosses him out of the room. Dean and Addison backup until they hit the wall. The shifter changes into Dean. But instead of losing it's skin, it changes with a shimmer. "What the fuck," Dean asks.

"Give me the baby," the shapeshifter demands.

"No way in hell."

Addison shoots the shapeshifter, hitting it in the shoulder. But all the shapeshifter does it look at the wound. It grabs her by the throat and throws her across the room. The shapeshifter turns it's attention to Dean and the baby. It wraps a hand around Dean's throat and lifts him before taking the baby. Dean falls to the ground and the shapeshifter calmly walks out of the room with the baby.

* * *

Addison's rubbing her shoulder as she and Dean walk back upstairs to the main room. Gwen and Christian were cleaning up while Sam and Samuel were talking. "I'm pretty sure it's not a myth now," Samuel says.

"Yeah," Sam agrees.

"What the hell was that thing," Dean asks.

"We think it may have been an alpha," Samuel answers.

Dean frowns as Addison raises an eyebrow. "An alpha. Like—"

"Like all monsters come from somewhere, right?"

"And you think this one was the—"

"King shapeshifter. First one who spawned all the others. There's tons of lore about it."

"The first one?"

"That's why it was so strong," Sam tells him. "And why nothing we had stopped it."

"He said he could find the baby anywhere, that he could feel it," Samuel explains. "Like there's a connection. That's in the lore too."

"What the hell's it want with babies anyway," Dean asks, looking between his grandfather and brother.

Samuel shrugs. "Softball team? I got no clue."

"Great. Well, then, how do we kill it?"

"I don't know if we can," Samuel tells him.

Dean stares at him, then nods and walks out of the building with Addison and Sam close behind him. "You know, it's funny," Dean says.

"What," Addison asks.

"You know, just before you, uh, ganked that shifter in the motel, he mentioned a father, which makes sense now because he meant the alpha."

"Huh," Sam replies. "Yeah, I guess so."

"Did you hear him say that?"

"Uh...I don't know, kind of a hot moment, you know? Why?"

"Oh, because if you heard him, then you both knew the alpha was out there."

"Okay."

"And if you knew the alpha was out there, you knew he might come after the baby. In which case you were using the baby as bait. So was that the plan to use the baby as bait?"

"Of course not. Dean, I just thought Samuel's was the safest place. That's all."

Dean nods, clearly not believing him. "Right. Of course." Addison sighs and climbs into the backseat of the Charger.


	3. The Third Man

Chapter 03 - The Third Man

Addison walks down the hallway to her and Sam's room. She covers her mouth, trying to hide her yawn. She wasn't gonna deny that she enjoyed being with Sam, but she couldn't help feeling like something was different about it. It was a feeling that she had for the past year. Addison enters the motel room and she's greeted with a very muscular, tanned chest covered in a light sheen of sweat. Sam clears his throat and she meets his gaze. Addison timidly holds up a plastic bag and coffee tray. "I got breakfast," she says, pushing past him to move towards the table.

She sets the bag and tray on the table before pulling out the containers. "You were checking me out," Sam teases.

"What? No. No. No. I just...wasn't expecting you to not have a shirt on," Addison lies, inwardly wincing. She didn't believe herself. He leans forward, pressing against her back. "What - what are you doing?"

He chuckles in her ear. "Just getting the coffee, Ads."

Addison swallows. "Oh." A phone rings and she scrambles to pull her new iPhone out of her pocket. "It's Dean." She quickly moves away from Sam, missing the smirk on his face. "Dean, hey. What's up?"

"Ads, you okay," Dean asks, concern laced in his voice.

"What? No. Yeah. I'm fine. I'll put you on speaker."

"Dean," Sam greets. Addison jumps. She hadn't heard him move up behind her. His hands settle on her hips and he lightly pulls her against his chest.

"I'm about eight hours out of the Campbell Base," Dean says over the speaker.

"Change of plans. We need you to meet us. We're in PA. Town called Easter."

"What are you doing in Pennsylvania?"

"Caught a case."

"A case? When? It's been like a day and a half."

"I like to work."

"Apparently."

"Glad we hashed that. Call us when you roll into town," Sam says, taking the phone out of her hands. He hangs up and tosses it on the bed. Addison starts towards the bed, but his hands on her shoulders stop her. "You need to relax, Addison."

"Oh? What - what makes you think that," Addison nervously asks. His hands skim down her side, brushing against her breasts before landing on her hips.

She could feel his breath on the back of her neck. "Because I can see how tense you are, Ads." Slowly, Sam unbuttons her shirt. Addison turns around and pulls him into a kiss, throwing any ounce of self control she had out the window.

* * *

Sam watches as Addison reads through the coroner's report for the last couple of victims. It was obvious that she was trying to ignore what had happened that morning. He smirks and leans in. "Red."

Addison glances at him, confused. "What?"

Sam moves to stand in front of her. The smirk on his face was wide. "Your bra."

A flush covers her face and she starts buttons up the top buttons on her blouse, but Sam grabs her hands. "Sam," Addison softly says as his fingers slip inside her shirt and lightly brush over the top of her breast. He lets go of her hands and she tightly grips his jacket. Her gaze goes around the street, looking to see if anyone was watching.

"You're turned on by this," Sam quietly says as his fingers slip inside her bra and tease her nipple. "I bet you're dripping wet, Ads. You like that anyone could just walk by and see this."

A loud rumble causes Sam to look up. The Impala parks down the street from where they were by the Charger. Sam pulls back and he smirks when he hears Addison let out a deep breath. "Ben, I know you're lying. Because I lie professionally, that's how. Now tell your mom that you broke the damn thing and take it like a man. Okay? Okay," Dean says, then snaps his phone shut.

"Wow," Sam greets as Dean walks over to them.

"What," Dean asks.

"You. Molding the minds of tomorrow. Who knew?"

"Yeah, tell me about it."

"How'd it go?"

"With?"

"You and Lisa. How'd she take it when you bailed?"

"Shockingly cool, actually."

"Better for everybody."

"Yeah, I suppose. Still driving the plastic piece of crap, huh?"

"What's your mileage again," Sam counters as they walk towards the police station.

"Shut up," Dean snaps. He looks at Addison. He frowns, seeing the flustered look on Addison's face. "You okay, Ads?"

"I'm fine. Officer Gerald Hatch," Addison answers, handing him the file. "He was a seventeen year veteran and three days ago he was found dead in the locker room."

Dean opens the file and his eyes go wide. "Whoa. Somebody was over hydrated."

"Yeah, he looks like what the vampires on _True Blood_ look like after they get staked."

"You watch that shit?"

"You watch Dr. Sexy," Addison counters as they enter the morgue. They flash their badges at a morgue attendants sitting in the office. "Anyway, the majority of him was turned to blood."

"Okay, I don't get it."

"Nobody gets it," Sam states.

"No, I mean, I get that. I'm saying if the guy was a mop job, then what are we doing in the morgue? What's left of him to look at?"

"We're here to look at different guy," Addison replies, pulling open a drawer. She pulls back the sheet to reveal a man covered in boils.

"Bad news."

"Meet Officer Toby Gray. He was brought in after a fellow officer found him in his patrol car."

"Extreme allergic reaction," Dean reads from the file.

"He's covered from head to toe in boils."

"Yeah, on the inside too. It says his airways are chock full of them. This starting to look a little witchy to either of you?"

"That was my first instinct," Sam says. "But I found zero signs of hex work anywhere. Far as I can tell, witchcraft was not involved."

"There's got to be some sort of link between skid mark and bubble wrap here."

"No question."

"All right, well, can I get a witness?"

Addison grabs the file from him and flips through a few of the pages. "Here. Officer Ed Colfax. He saw Hatch melt."

"Another cop?"

"It says that he's Hatch's partner."

* * *

Addison climbs out of the Charger and takes a deep breath. Neither Dean nor Sam paid any attention to speed limits and it was something that one had to grow accustomed to. Of course, it hadn't helped that Sam had his hand up her skirt while driving at break neck speeds. "Were you...were you racing me," Sam asks Dean.

"No. I was kicking your ass," Dean counters.

"How old are you again, Dean," Addison questions walking up to the house. She knocks on the door. "Officer Colfax?"

The door opens to reveal a man in dark blue dress uniform. "Whoa. Looking sharp, Kojak," Dean greets.

"Who the hell are you," Colfax replies.

"We're the Fed, Ed. We're here to ask you a few follow up questions about your partner's death," Sam states.

Colfax shakes his head. "Don't worry about it. It's nobody's business."

"Officer Colfax—"

"Don't worry about it," Colfax shouts, then slams the door in their face.

Sam kicks open the door. "Sam," Addison disbelievingly says as the taller hunter strides into the house. Addison shoots Dean a frustrated look before quickly following him. All the pictures that were hanging on the walls had the eyes scratched out.

They find Colfax sitting at a dining room table, scratching out a picture. "Officer Colfax," Sam asks.

Dean frowns. "Hey, man, you all right?"

"Don't worry about it," Colfax replies, not looking at them.

"Officer Colfax, we have reason to believe that your partner died of unnatural causes," Addison says. Colfax looks up and scratches his hat. "Did he have any enemies?"

"You might say that."

"Oh, yeah," Sam scoffs. "Who's that?"

"They both had it coming. Me too. I'll be the next to go and then it'll be over. And God will be satisfied."

"Why does God want you all dead," Dean questions.

"Cause of Christopher Birch," Colfax answers. His arm bumps against a bottle of bourbon and he stares as the amber liquid spills onto the floor. "Oh, damn it."

"Who's Christopher Birch," Sam asks.

"He has no face."

"Ed?"

"Officer Colfax, are you okay," Addison asks. Colfax sets the bottle upside on the table.

"Who is Christopher Birch, Ed," Sam impatiently asks. "Ed!"

"Christopher Birch is a kid with no face and a planted gun," Colfax finally replies. Blood drips down from under his hat.

"Uh, you, uh..." Dean points to his forehead. "You got a little something..." Colfax lightly touches the blood. "Yeah."

"Damn. My head's been itching like a dirty jock."

Suddenly, he falls face first onto the table. "Officer Colfax," Addison asks.

Sam steps forward and checks Colfax's body for a pulse. "Dead."

"You hear that," Dean questions as a buzzing sound grows louder. Sam pulls off the hat on Colfax's head. Addison moves back as bugs crawl out of the man's head.

* * *

"Sweet," Dean says, looking through the research spread across the table that the trio was sitting at. He knew something was going on, not just with Sam, but with Addison too. He could feel it in his bones. "Blood, boils, locusts."

"Three of your more popular Egyptian plagues," Sam says, not looking up from his laptop.

"Except for these locusts ate their way out of Officer Colfax's head," Addison says as Dean examines the locusts they had collected in a jar.

"Yeah, I don't quite remember that in the King James," Dean agrees.

"Meanwhile, a kid named Christopher Birch was shot in the head last month after a vehicle pursuit. Hatch, Gray, and Colfax were the three officers involved and they all filed the exact same police report," Sam says, turning his computer to face them.

"Suspect exited vehicle brandishing a firearm. We were forced to fire," Dean reads.

"A kid with no face and a planted gun," Addison says, remembering what Colfax had told them.

"Bunch of dicks. So, they pop the kid, plant the piece."

"Maybe Colfax is right. You know, maybe Heaven has a hate on for bad cops," Sam tells them.

"So, we're listening to the guy with the bug in his custard? That's - that's the, uh, the theory you want to go with?"

"Dean, angels gotta have something to do, right? Now that we're post apocalypse."

Dean shrugs. "Maybe. You should call Cas."

Sam scoffs. "You're kidding, right?" He chuckles as Dean sits down on one of the beds. "Dean, I tried. It was the first and second and third thing I did soon as I got topside. Son of a bitch won't answer the phone."

Dean looks at Addison and she shakes her head. "I've tried, but he's not answering," she tells him.

Dean nods and closes his eyes. "Now, I lay me down to sleep, I pray to Castiel to get his feathery ass down here."

"You're an idiot," Sam comments.

"Stay positive."

"Oh, I am positive."

"Come on, Cas, don't be a dick. Got ourselves a plague like situation own here and...do you - do you copy?" Dean opens one eye and looks around the room.

"Like I said, the son of a bitch doesn't answer." There's a rustling of wings and Dean and Addison stare. "He's right behind me, isn't he?"

"Yep," Addison says.

Sam turns and looks at the angel. "Hello," Castiel greets.

"Hello," Sam repeats.

"Yes."

"Hello. Hello?"

Castiel frowns, confused. "Uh, that is still the term?"

"I spend all that time trying to get through to you. Dean calls once and now it's hello?"

"Yes."

"So, what, you - you like him better or something?"

"Dean and I do share a more profound bond. I wasn't gonna mention it."

The boys shoot Addison an unamused look at her snigger. "Cas, I think what he's trying to say is that he went to Hell for us," Dean says, standing up. "I mean, he really took one for the team, you remember that? And then he comes back without a clue and you can't take five fucking minutes to him give some answers?"

"If I had any answers, I might have responded, but I don't know, Sam. We have no idea who brought you from the cage or why."

"So it wasn't God," Sam asks.

"No one's even seen God. The whole thing remains mysterious."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"What part of 'I don't know' escapes your understanding?"

"Cas, look, if Sam or Ads calls, you answer. Okay. You wing your ass down here and you tell them 'I don't know,'" Dean tells the angel. "Just because we have some sort of a bond or whatever—"

"You think I came because you called," Castiel interrupts. "I came because of this."

Castiel motions to the research on the table. "Well, it's nice to know what matters," Dean comments.

"It does help one to focus."

"So you and the Angel League aren't the ones doing this," Addison asks.

"No. But they were committed with one of our weapons. There's only one thing that could have brought this into existence. You call it the Staff of Moses."

"The staff," Sam asks.

"It was used in a dominance display against the Egyptians, as I recall."

Dean scoffs. "Yeah, that one made the papers."

"I thought the staff turned rivers into blood, not people," Addison says.

"The weapon isn't being used at full capacity," Castiel replies. "I think we can rule Moses out as a suspect."

Addison blinks and the guys exchange a disbelieving look. "Okay, well, what is Chuck Heston's disco stick doing down here anyway," Dean asks. "I mean, don't you guys put away your toys?"

"Before the apocalypse, Heaven may have been corrupt, but it was stable. The staff was safely contained. It's been chaos up there since the war ended. In that confusion, a number of powerful weapons were stolen."

"Wait, you're saying your nukes are loose?"

"Yeah, I'm afraid so. But you've stumbled onto one of them. We must find the weapon that did this. I need your help."

Sam scoffs. "That's rich, really."

"Sam, Dean, Addison, my 'people skills' are rusty. Pardon me, but I have spent the last 'year' as a multidimensional wavelength of celestial intent. But believe me, you do not want that weapon down here. Help me find it or more people will die."

"All right, okay," Dean tells him. "Well, if the angels didn't pull the trigger then that brings us back to motive."

Castiel nods, then frowns. "What?"

"Back to the case," Sam clarifies. "And now we got three dead cops."

"All of whom had something to do with framing Christopher Birch," Addison says. She holds up a newspaper article. "Christopher Birch's father has been calling for an investigation. I'd say that's our best place to start."

Castiel nods. In the blink of an eye, they're no longer in their motel, but in the living room of a house. An African-American man jumps up from his couch. "Cas, a little warning next time," Dean tells him.

"How'd you get in," the man demands.

"Mr. Birch, settle down. Federal agents," Sam says, holding up his fake badge.

"But you can't just walk in here."

"Quite a collection you there, huh?"

Mr. Birch frowns. "What are you trying to—"

"Mr. Birch, we know the truth," Addison interrupts. "We know that your son was shot by three officers and that they planted the gun afterward to save their own asses."

"Yeah. They're all getting theirs."

"And who's giving it to them, Darryl," Sam demands.

"Darryl, did you kill Toby Gray and the others," Dean asks.

"Me? I didn't kill anyone," Mr. Birch argues. "Look at how they died."

"You smote them with the Staff of Moses," Castiel accuses.

"What the hell kind of fed are you?"

"We don't have time for this." Castiel steps forward. "Where is it?"

"Leave my dad alone." They turn to see a young teenaged boy standing behind them. He was pointing a stick at them.

"Is that—" Dean begins.

"Yes," Castiel answers.

"Lovely," Addison mutters.

"Shouldn't it be bigger," Sam asks.

"Yes, it's - it's been sawed off," Castiel replies.

"Leave him alone, it wasn't him," the boy says.

"Aaron, get out of here," Mr. Birch tells him.

Castiel turns and places two finger on Mr. Birch's forehead, knocking him out. "What did you do to him," Aaron demands.

"He's all right, he's just sleeping," Dean answers. Castiel appears behind Aaron and pulls the staff out of his hand. "Cas, take it easy. Listen, we're not here to hurt you, okay? But we need to know. Where did you get this thing?"

"Please don't kill my dad," Aaron begs as the trio walks towards him. "It was me. I did it."

"Okay, nobody's killing anybody. What's your name?"

"Aaron. Aaron Birch."

"Aaron, can you tell us where you got it," Addison softly asks.

"You won't believe me."

"It's okay. We'll believe you."

"It was an angel."

"An angel," Dean repeats.

"Those liars, they killed my brother and nothing bad even happened to them. It's not fair. So I prayed to God every night he would punish them. God didn't answer, but he did."

"His name. Did he give you a name," Castiel questions.

"No. He just said I could have justice. But I was gonna have to take it myself. He - he gave me the stick."

Addison frowns. "He just gave it to you?" Aaron nervously nods. "Except he didn't just give it to you, did he, Aaron?"

"I bought it," Aaron confesses.

Sam scoffs. "You brought it. With what? What's your allowance?"

"How did you buy it, Aaron," Addison asks, ignoring Sam.

"My soul," Aaron replies.

"You sold your soul to an angel," Sam asks.

"Can that even happen," Dean asks Castiel.

"It's never happened before," Castiel replies. "An angel's buying souls. That could explain why he cut the staff into pieces."

"Why," Sam questions.

"More pieces, more product."

"More product," Dean repeats. "Who is this guy?"

"We'll find him."

Castiel touches Aaron's forehead and catches the boy before he hits the ground. "What did you do that for?"

"Portability."

In an instant, they're back in their motel room. Castiel lays the boy down on the nearest bed. "Cas, you realize you just kidnapped a kid," Dean points out.

"If the angel we seek truly brought this boy's soul - when a claim is laid on a living soul, it leaves a mark, a brand."

"What, like a shirt tag at camp," Sam asks.

"I have no idea. But I can read the mark and find the name of the angel that bought the soul."

"How," Addison questions.

"Well, painfully, for him. The reading will be excruciating," Castiel explains, pushing up sleeves.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on," Dean says.

"Dean."

"He's a kid, Cas, a kid." Dean turns to Sam and Addison. "Guys."

"Any permanent damage," Sam asks.

Dean frowns and stares at his younger brother. "What?"

"Physically, minimal," Castiel states.

"Oh, well, yeah, then by all means, stick your arm right in there," Dean snaps.

"Dean, if I get the name I can work a ritual to track the angel down."

"And I'm all for that, but come on. There's gotta be another way."

"There is no other way."

Addison shakes her head. "Cas, you're going to torture a kid who was just trying to get justice for his brother."

"I can't care about that, Addison. I don't have the luxury."

Silence settles over the trio was they watch Castiel put his hand in Aaron's chest. Aaron screams in pain. Dean starts to walk over, but Sam grabs his arm. Castiel pulls his hand out and Aaron falls silent. "He'll rest now," Castiel tells them.

"Did you get a name," Sam asks. "What is it?"

"I thought he died in the war."

"What, he was a friend or something?"

"A good friend."

"Yeah, well, your frat buddy is now moonlighting as a crossroads demon."

"Balthazar, I wonder."

"So we can find him, now, right," Sam asks.

"Balthazar." The group turns to see a man in a suit standing by the door. "Thanks, Castiel, we'll make good use of the name." The man runs at Castiel, an angel sword raised in his hand. Castiel pulls out his own sword and blocks it. The trio quickly backs up as the two angels fight. "And by the way, Raphael says hello."

Castiel shoves the angel towards the windows. The angel runs back at Castiel, this time with two swords. Castiel easily disarms him and crashes out of the window with the angel. The trio stands there for a moment, then runs over to the windows. A car alarm was going off. They look out the window and find that the angels had landed on Sam's car, crushing it. Castiel climbs off the car and looks up at them. "My car," Sam says.

"Okay. Silver lining," Dean comments. Addison rolls her eyes as Sam shoots Dean an annoyed look.

"He's gone." They turn to see Castiel standing behind them.

"Um, Cas, who was that," Addison asks.

"A soldier of Raphael," Castiel responds, searching through the cabinets. "He must have followed me when I answered your call."

"Raphael? The archangel," Sam questions. "I'm sorry, what's going on here?"

"I can explain later. Right now, we have to—"

"No, not later, now," Dean says, blocking the angel's path. "Stop, all right? There's too many angels, Cas. I don't know who's on first, what's on second—"

"What is second?"

"Don't start that."

"It is simple, Raphael and his followers, they want him to rule Heaven. I and many others, the last thing we want is to let him take over. It would be catastrophic."

"There's a civil war going on in Heaven," Addison asks.

"Technically, yes. Which is why we have to find Balthazar and his weapons before Raphael does. Whoever has the weapons wins the war," Castiel explains, grabbing Sam's duffle bag.

"Help yourself," Sam mutters.

"What happens if Raphael wins," Dean asks. "I mean, what does he want?"

"What he's always wanted: to end the story the way it was written," Castiel tells them.

"You mean the apocalypse, the one we derailed?"

"Yes, that one. Raphael wants to put it back on the rails."

"Why?"

"I need myrrh."

Addison blinks. "Myrrh?"

"Fucking angels," Dean says after Castiel vanishes. They turn around and Castiel is setting up supplies at the table. "Why does Raphael wanna bring back all this shit?"

"He's a traditionalist," Castiel states.

"Why didn't you tell us this?"

"I was ashamed. I expected more from my brothers. I'm sorry. Now, I need your blood."

Castiel grabs Dean's arm. "Whoa, whoa, hey!" He cuts across Dean's palm. "Why don't you use your own?"

"Wouldn't work, I'm not human."

Dean squeezes blood into the bowel and then wraps up his hand as Castiel finishes the ritual. Sirens go off in the distance. "Cas, how long is this gonna take," Addison asks.

"Got him, let's go."

"Whoa, whoa, wait, what about him," Dean demands, motioning to Aaron.

"Don't you think the police will take him home?"

* * *

Addison blinks as they appear in the backyard of a large mansion. They had managed to grab some supplies before Castiel flew them out. "Huh," Dean states. "I was expecting more Dr. No, less Liberace."

The hunters stay back, setting up in case Raphael made an appearance or Balthazar tried to escape before they got answers while Castiel went to talk to Balthazar.

Thunder flashes and the lights inside the mansion go off. Castiel had given each of them an angel sword. They find one of Raphael's soldiers walking around walking around. Sam walks up to him. "Hey there," he greets. The angel holds up his sword and Sam does the same. "Yeah. I got one of those too."

Another angel appears behind Sam and holds a sword up to his throat. "You think you can knife fight an angel?"

"Who said anything about fighting," Addison comments.

"Peace out, douchewad," Dean says, then slams his hand against a banishing sigil. A bright light flashes and the angels are gone.

The trio make their way inside the house to the main foyer. They had managed to lay down a circle of holy oil before Raphael had appeared.

Dean flips open his zippo as he and Addison sneak up on the angel. "No time like the present," he says, lighting it and dropping it on the oil.

"Holy fire," Balthazar states as the flames go up around him. "You hairless ape. Release me."

"First, you're taking your marker off of Aaron Birch's soul," Dean demands.

"Am I?"

"Sam."

Sam enters, carrying the jar of holy oil. "Unless you like your wings extra crispy, I'd think about it."

"Castiel, I stood for you in Heaven. Are you gonna let one of them-" Balthazar begins.

"I believe the hairless ape has the floor," Castiel argues.

Balthazar looks between Dean and Castiel. He chuckles. "Very well." He raises his hands and takes a deep breath before slowly lowering them. "The boy's debt is cleared. His soul is his own."

"Why are you buying human souls anyway," Addison questions.

"In this economy? It's probably the only thing worth buying. Do you have any idea what souls are worth? What power they hold? Now, release me."

Dean glares. "Suck it, ass clown, nobody said anything—" Castiel raises a hand and extinguishes the flames. "Cas, what the hell?"

"My debt to you is cleared," Castiel says.

"Fair enough," Balthazar replies, then vanishes.

"Cas, are you out of mind," Dean snaps, but Castiel vanishes. "Cas? Oh, fucking angels. Come on."

* * *

Laughter rings out as Dean enters the motel room. He frowns, seeing the clothes all over the floor. He sets the paper bag and drink tray down on the table as the bathroom door opens. He looks up and finds a naked Sam. "Dude," Dean says, quickly averting his gaze.

"We thought you were gonna be gone for a while," Sam replies, digging through Addison's duffle bag.

Dean grabs his bags. "I'm gonna get my own room."

A few hours later, Dean's sitting outside the motel room. The door opens and he glances over his shoulder to see Addison. "Why are you sitting out here," she asks, sitting down next to him. She pulls her hair into a messy ponytail.

"Motel's sold out," Dean answers, running a hand down his face. "And I wasn't about to sit and listen to the two of you."

Addison sighs. "Look, I know the way we left things—"

"Oh, you mean how you left in the middle of fucking night, Addison?"

"Yeah, I left in the middle of the night because you would've tried to talk me out of it."

"Damn right."

Addison shakes her head and stands up. "Dean, I have moved from whatever the hell we have spent half of our lives doing. And you've moved on too. I want us to be friends. But if you don't want to do that, then we can at least be civil. I'll tell Sam that we'll get separate rooms from now on." She walks back into the motel room, leaving him sitting outside.


	4. Weekend At Bobby's

Chapter 04 - Weekend at Bobby's

Addison wrinkles her nose as she stands next to Dean while he examines a body that was left in the woods behind a playground. Dean glances at her. "Oh, please tell me you aren't gonna puke," he says, turning back to the body.

"I'm not gonna puke," Addison replies, rolling her eyes.

"No EMF," Sam says, walking over to them. "Find anything in there?"

"Yeah, I got some kind of claw," Dean replies, pulling off the blood covered gloves. He picks up the claw he had dropped on the ground and holds it up to them.

"What in the hell has a claw like that?"

Dean pulls out his cell phone. "That is a good question." He glances at Sam and Addison as the phone rings.

"Maybe he's in the can."

"Or maybe he's taking a siesta," Addison suggests.

"Yeah," Bobby finally answers.

"What happened, you fall and can't get up," Dean asks him.

"Hilarious. What's up?"

"We're in Wisconsin. Six bodies, chests cracked wide open. No EMF, no sulfur, no hex bags. We did find this, though. Hang on." Dean takes a picture of the claw and sends it to Bobby. "All right, check your wang."

"That's a new one."

"Yeah, we need an I.D. asap. This thing's on a rampage. Call as soon as you dig something up."

"Dean, I'm a little busy."

"Well, then kick Bo Derek out of your bathtub. We got a case here."

"I'll call you back."

Dean hangs up and shoves his phone in his pants pocket. "Bobby's on it. Let's grab some grub and head back."

"I vote for Mexican," Addison says as they start towards where the Impala was parked. "I could really go for some tacos and margaritas."

"I second that," Sam replies, his hand resting on her lower back.

Dean frowns. "Since when did we start voting?"

"Since I wanted to eat something other than burgers," Addison counters, shooting Dean an amused smirk. "Sam votes the way I vote because it means he gets laid." Dean looks at his younger brother and Sam shrugs.

* * *

"You're hunting a lamia," Bobby tells Dean over the phone as the younger hunter sat in the quiet motel room, eating a burger. Sam and Addison had gone to stock up on some supplies they needed, but the fact that they had been gone all day was making him worried.

"Come again," Dean asks.

"It's a monster. Juices hearts, chugs the blood. Never heard of one popping up outside of Greece, though."

"Yeah, well, looks like this freak has immigrated. It's snacking on cheese heads. How do we gank it?"

"There's a couple of ways. Easiest is a silver knife blessed by a padre."

"Gotcha," Dean replies, hanging up as Sam and Addison walk into the motel room. He frowns noticing Addison's messy hair and Sam's rumpled clothing. Dean closes his eyes in realization. "Please, tell me you didn't…"

"Okay, we won't," Sam replies, setting the bag of supplies that he and Addison went after on the table.

Dean glances at his watch. "So, you guys spent all day in my car—"

"No, we picked up supplies, went to Red Lobster cause they got those delicious biscuits, then we had sex in the backseat of the Impala," Addison interrupts.

Dean shakes his head. "Look, Bobby called. Said we're hunting a lamia."

"He say how to kill it," Sam asks.

"Silver knife blessed by a priest."

* * *

After finding a church with a priest willing to bless their knife, the trio arrived only to find the priest dead and the lamia snacking on him. "What's another way to kill a lamia," Dean asks, the moment Bobby picks up. He glances over his shoulder where Sam and Addison were fighting the lamia.

"Well, what happened to the silver knife blessed by a priest," Bobby asks.

"That didn't pan out. What's plan B?"

"Dean," Sam groans when the lamia slams him into a metal pole.

"Come on, Bobby. Get the lead out." Addison's thrown into the room by the lamia and she groans as she pushes herself up.

"Where are you," Bobby asks.

"The church — in a rectory."

"Is there a kitchen?"

"Yeah."

"Find salt and rosemary."

Dean runs into the kitchen with Addison on his heels. "What are we looking for," she asks, opening the cabinets.

"Salt and rosemary," Dean answers. He grabs a bowl and sets it on the counter before looking through more cabinets.

"Found it," Addison shouts. She tosses the bottle of rosemary to Dean as the lamia growls and slams Sam against the wall.

"I got it," Dean tells Bobby.

"Great. Great. Now blend the herbs, saute over a high heat. Cook well."

Dean frowns, but pours the salt and rosemary into the bowl. He tosses the herbs onto the lamia and pushes the stove out of the way. He rips off the gas line and pulls out his lighter. "Sammy, Ads! Fire in the hole," he shouts, then lights the gas line and aims the fire at the lamia.

Once the lamia is dead, Addison grabs a fire extinguisher and puts out the fire. "Well, that's one way of doing it," she says.

* * *

Dean runs a hand through his hair as the listens to the ringing on the other end. Sam was outside, talking on his cell phone while Addison was taking a shower. He couldn't deny that something had been bothering him about his younger brother for days now. "Dean, you all right," Bobby asks, after picking up.

"Yeah. Yeah, the lamia grilled up fine," Dean replies.

"I sense a but coming on."

"It's Sam, Bobby. He's just — he's different. You know and I get it. You go through something like that, and — and you change. But…something's not right to me."

"Dean—"

"I've got a few questions about that year when you saw him and I didn't."

"Dean, I got another call."

"You what?"

"Just hang on. I got to take this. It's important."

"More important than Sam?" Silence greets him. "Bobby?" Dean stares at his cell phone in disbelief. The bathroom door opens and he looks up to see Addison walk out of the bathroom, wrapped in a towel. He watches as she bends over her duffle bag and rummages through it. She shoots him a small smile before disappearing back in the bathroom.

"Still there, Dean," Bobby asks.

Dean blinks. "Bobby, what the hell?"

"I, uh, sorry."

"You know you are the one person that I can talk to about this stuff, about Sam, about leaving Lisa and Ben, about Ads. I mean I don't — I don't even know which way is up right now. Bobby? Hello?"

"I — I hear you, son. I — it just ain't a good time," Bobby replies.

"Yeah, okay. You know what — forget it. I mean, I'm baring my soul like a fucking girl here and, uh, and you've got stuff to do. So that is — that's fine. That's fine but, seriously, a little selfish. Not all about you."

"Where's your brother and Addison," Bobby angrily asks.

Dean frowns. "Outside."

"Get 'em."

Dean sets his phone on the table, then sticks his head out the door. "Hey," he calls and Sam turns to him, hanging up his phone. "Bobby wants to talk to us." He walks over to the bathroom and bangs on the door. "Ads!" Addison opens the door and looks at Dean. He clears his throat and grabs his phone off the table. Sam sits down on his and Addison's bed while Dean sits down on his bed. "You're on speaker, Bobby."

"Sam. Dean. Addison. I love you like my own. I do. But sometimes…sometimes you three are the whiniest, most self-absorbed sons of bitches I ever met! I'm selfish? Me? I do everything for you! Everything! You need some lores scrounged up, you need your asses pulled out of the fire, you need someone to bitch to about each other, you call me and I come through every damn time! And what do I get for it? Jack with a side of squat!"

"Bobby," Dean starts.

"Do I sound like I'm done? Now look. I know you've got issues. God knows I know. But I got a news flash for you. You ain't the center of the universe! Now, it may have slipped your mine that Crowley owns my soul! And the meter is running. And I will be damned if I'm going to sit around and — and be damned! So how you three sack up and help me for once?"

"Bobby, all —all you got to do is ask," Sam tells him.

"Anything you need, we're there," Dean adds.

"Yeah, whatever you need, Bobby," Addison says.

* * *

The favor that Bobby needed, turned out to be in northern Scotland. Digging up a grave that apparently belong to Crowley was something the boys were more than happy to do. Dean smirks as he held his phone to his ear. "Hiya, Crowley," he greets. "Sure. We'll have to do that when I get back. Yeah. Me, Sam, and Ads — we've gone international. In fact, we're in your neck of the woods." Dean glances down in the grave at the bones still clothed in a traditional Scottish funeral outfit. "Did you really used to wear a skirt?"

Addison rolls her eyes. "Do we really need to taunt the dick?"

"Dominoes. In fact, we just dug yours up." Dean pulls out his lighter as he listens to Bobby and Crowley. He starts flicking it opening and closing. "You hear that, Crowley? That's me flicking my Bic for you." Addison lets out a breath when Dean shoots them a triumphed smirk.

"I believe those are mine." The trio turns to see Crowley standing a few feet behind them.

Dean flicks open his lighter. "You know, now that I think about it, maybe I'll just napalm your ass anyhow."

"Dean, he's a dick, but a deal's a deal," Sam reminds him.

"I don't need you to fight my battles for me, Moose. Get bent," Crowley snaps as he moves around them. They watch as he inspects the bones before putting them in a burlap bag. "Now, if you'll excuse me. I've a little hell to raise."

* * *

"I appreciate you three lending a hand," Bobby says over Dean's speaker phone as they drive down the dark Scottish highway. Sam was stretched out in the backseat while Dean was squished in the front seat of the tiny car they had rented upon arriving in Edinburgh. Dean tightens his grip on his phone as he glances at Addison sitting in the driver's seat.

"Hey, anytime we get to punk Crowley works for us," Dean replies.

"Still, knowing how much you love flying the friendly skies, I guess a nine hour plane trip was no picnic. What did you do, drink your way through it?"

"I was fine."

"No, he white knuckled his way through four puke bags," Sam says.

"Yeah, I'm surprised you didn't break my hand," Addison mutters.

"But at least I was sober. If some nut job decided to try something, I was ready. I had a fork," Dean defends.

Bobby laughs. "Listen. Um — about the things I said earlier. I was in a tough spot and I — I guess I was—"

"You were right, Bobby," Sam interrupts. "We take you for granted."

"You've been cleaning up our messes for years, Bobby. Without you, I don't even want to think about where me, Sam, and Ads would've ended up," Dean adds.

"Okay then, let's roll credits on this chick flick. You three have a safe flight. And, uh, try some of the local grub, I hear it's…exotic."

"Oh yeah, no, definitely. We are. I hear they have an Olive Garden."

"We're not going to Olive Garden," Addison mutters as Dean hangs up his phone. She glares as he bumps into her while he's putting up his phone.

* * *

Dean frowns as he watches Addison sleep in the seat next to him. Granted, he knew that she could sleep anywhere, including a plane. But there was something different about her. There was something different about Sam and Dean knew that it had nothing to do with them being separated for a year. Addison shifts and turns towards him as the plane hits a bit turbulence. Dean reaches out and grabs her hand. "It's perfectly fine," she tiredly mutters.

The plane gets a little more bumpy. "That is not fine," Dean quietly argues.

"It's normal."

"Yeah? Next thing you're gonna tell me is that Sam's fine." Addison remains silent and he glances at her.

"Sam's fine," Addison softly says. "It's been a year, Dean. We've all changed. There was no way we could go through everything we've gone through and still be the same." She squeezes his hand before unbuckling her seat belt. "Everything's fine, Dean. Now, I'm gonna use the bathroom." She shoots him a small smile as she climbs over.

Dean runs a hand over his face and looks towards a couple of rows ahead, where Sam was seated. There was nothing he could do to shake the uneasy feeling in his stomach.


	5. Live Free or Twihard

Chapter 05 — Live Free or Twihard

Addison and Sam walk up to where Dean was leaning against the Impala, talking on his phone. He sees them and hangs up. Addison raises an eyebrow at the happy look on his face. "What are you stoked about," Sam asks.

"What? Nothing. What do you guys got," Dean replies.

"In the past seven days, six girls have gone missing," Addison explains.

"Which is more disappearances than this city has seen in over a year," Sam continues.

"They're all around the same age."

"And cute," Dean comments, looking through the file that Sam had handed him. Sam scoffs. "Hey, ice cream comes in lots of flavors."

"Okay. Whatever," Addison says. "Half a dozen girls, in their late teens, all with bright futures. Sounds like a profile. Now, we just gotta figure what else they have in common."

"Well, six directions to go here, Ads. Pick a number."

"Seven," Sam corrects. "Another call just came in today."

* * *

The trio makes their way to visit the latest victim's family, but only the girl's dad was home. "Kirsten's a good kid," he tells them, looking at the photos hanging on the wall. "A little naive, sure. You try and be a good parent. Girls are hard."

The boys awkwardly nod. "Right," Sam says. "We'd just like to find your daughter."

"Last door on the left."

"Thanks," Dean says, then the trio makes their way upstairs. "What do you think he was talking about?"

"Drugs," Sam suggests.

Addison scoffs. "Please, the only thing that drives any dad with a teenage daughter crazy are boys. And I know that from experience."

Entering the dark red room, Addison raises an eyebrow seeing the various vampire movie posters adoring the walls. There's skull candle holders and pillows with faces on them. "Oh, this so much worse," Dean comments.

"Vampires," Sam disbelievingly asks.

"No, these aren't vampires, man. These—"

"Shitty, sparkly, douchebags," Addison interrupts. Sam closes the door and they get to searching the room. Addison rolls her eyes seeing a book series sitting on a desk.

"All right," Sam says, holding up a red laptop. "Let's see what we can see." Dean and Addison stand behind Sam as he turns on the computer. They stare when the computer screams at them and a face appears on the screen. "That's just uncomfortable."

"What is he so bummed out about," Dean asks. He picks up one of the books. "Look at this. He's watching her sleep. How is that not rapey?" Addison shrugs, turning to look around some more.

"I gotta concentrate here, Dean."

"'He could hear the blood rushing inside her, almost taste it. He tried desperately to control himself. Romero knew their love was impossible.'"

"Romero," Addison incredulously asks.

"Guys, shut up," Sam tells them.

"This is a national bestseller," Dean comments. He tosses the book onto the bed. "Hey, uh, try, uh, Lautner."

"Wait, he's a werewolf." Sam blinks and glance at his older brother. "How do you even know who that is?"

"You kidding me? That kid's everywhere. It's a fucking nightmare."

"Hey, how many T's are there in Pattin—" The computer chimes. "That's it. We're in."

"You know, the Tenth Doctor is the reason Voldemort kills him in _Goblet of Fire_ ," Addison says. "It actually made people like the bad guy."

"I thought you liked this shit," Dean comments.

"No. I like the vampires who'd fuck you. Well, except, Angel. The one time he and Buffy had sex, he lost his soul and turned into a dick. And my dad always called dibs on Spike. And _True Blood_ is just gore and sex."

"Her inbox is full from some guy claiming to be a vampire," Sam tells them.

"A real vampire," Dean asks.

"Well...'I can only meet you at night. I don't trust myself with you. The call of your blood is too strong.' Vampires phishing for victims?"

"It's probably just a human mouth breather, right?"

"Or it's an actual vampire going after some pretty easy prey," Addison counters. "Why go after victims when they throw themselves at you?"

"Yeah, all you gotta do is, I don't know, write bad poetry," Sam says.

"Huh," Dean responds.

Sam clicks open one of the last messages. "Well, this guy wanted to meet her at a place called The Black Rose."

"Give me a break."

"Just reporting the news."

"This is probably just your standard issue perv, right?"

* * *

Addison silently looks around as they sit in The Black Rose, scooping the place out. The majority of the bar patrons wore dark clothing or had various tattoos or piercings on display. "Well, you wanted emo chicks, I think we hit ground zero," Dean comments. The waitress, who was wearing a tight black rubber dress, appears and sets down their drinks. "You think she wears all that rubber to the beach? When was the last time we had a beer together anyway?"

"There," Sam says, motioning to across the bar. "What do you think? He's hitting on her hard enough. Real?"

"No way," Addison replies, setting down her Bloody Mary. "He's just trying really hard to get laid."

"There's just something about your blood that is drawing me to you."

Addison and the boys turn to see lanky boy, who looked barely old enough to be in the bar. He had eyeliner on and a dog collar. "No," she says, turning away.

"I don't know what—" Addison shoots the boy a look. One that clearly said 'go away or else.' The boy gulps and quickly leaves.

"I think you made him wet himself, Ads," Dean amusedly comments. Addison shrugs. He motions to a couple of guys on a different side of the bar. "We got multiple choice."

"Three of them, three of us," Sam says.

They watch as one of the guys walks over and kisses another guy. "Okay. Make that two of them."

One of the earlier guys leads a girl away from the bar. "One's on the move." The other guy also moves away from the bar with a girl.

"All right. You go with Efron, me and Ads got Bieber," Dean says, standing up. They quickly split up. Dean and Addison follow the guy out of the bar. They watch as the girl leans against the wall and guy kisses her neck. Dean yanks the guy back. "Go. Get out of here."

The girl runs down the street. "What the..." the guy starts as Dean slams him against the dumpster. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Open your mouth!" The guy opens his mouth to reveal a set of fake fangs. "Take those out. Take 'em out!" The guy removes the fake fangs. "Ugh. For the love of - what are you, twelve? Are you wearing glitter?"

"I only do it to get laid, man."

Dean pauses. "Does it work?"

Addison pulls Dean back. "Go," she tells the guy and he takes off down the alley. "And this is why we listen to the woman of the group."

"That doesn't actually work, does it," Dean questions as they walk back towards the bar.

"Personally, I would never sleep with a guy that wore glitter. But I'm sure there are girls who go for that."

"I'll be damed."

"You're pretty."

They turn to see a guy with bushy hair step out of the shadows. Dean and Addison exchange a look. "I'm sorry," Dean replies.

"I said you're pretty," the man repeats.

"Yeah, sorry again, pal. I don't play for your team. And she's tired of being hit on douchebags." They turn to leave, but the man grabs Dean tosses him down the alley.

"Dean," Addison shouts. The man grabs her and tosses her behind him like a rag doll.

Dean groans and pushes himself up as the man walks towards. He grabs a lead pipe and swings it at the man. The man rips the pipe out Dean's hands and slams him against the dumpster. The man punches him. Dean's barely able to make out Sam standing at the end of the alley as the man smears vampire blood across his mouth, forcing some it down his throat.

"Sammy," Dean breathes, looking up at his younger brother.

* * *

"Oh my God, what is that sound," Dean asks, walking around the motel room. Addison groans as she lays on one of the beds with an ice pack against her head. Dean grabs his head and looks around the room, trying to find the source of the noise he was hearing.

Sam pulls the curtains closed and looks at Dean. "What sound, Dean?"

Addison sits up when Dean smashes one of the lamps. He looks around the room. He walks over to the wall and bangs on it. "Hey, come on. Keep it down, damn it." He winces as the light hits his eyes. "Please, please, shut that off."

Sam crosses the room and turns off the light. "Dean, you should sit down."

"You sit down," Dean snaps, but sits down on the empty bed. "Of all the ways to die, never thought I'd be going out like this."

"Dean, nobody is going out."

Dean stares at the alarm clock. "Dean," Addison asks, concern lacing her voice. He grabs the clock and rips it out of the wall.

"Samuel's gonna kill me when he gets here," Dean tells them.

"No, Dean, he's not," Sam replies.

"Yes he is because I'm gonna ask him to because neither of you will do it."

"Just hold on a second."

"For what? Huh? Look at me!"

"We can figure this out."

"How?" Dean stares at him. "Why aren't you freaked out?"

"Of course I am."

"Really?"

"Cause I can hear your heartbeat and it's pretty damn steady while Addison's is going a mile a minute."

"That's because I'm trying remain calm. Dean, look, Samuel will know what to do."

"Come on, man, I'm a monster. Okay? This is not a problem that you spitball. We gotta deal with this before I hurt somebody."

Dean groans and covers his face. "How's it feel," Sam asks and Addison frowns.

"Now? Now you wanna talk about my feelings?"

"No, I mean physically."

Dean glares and stands up. "How do you think it feels? Not good."

"Where you going?"

"Bathroom, okay," Dean snaps, heading towards the bathroom. "News flash, Mr. Wizard. Vampires pee."

Addison sighs. "He has a point, Sam," she softly says. "We can't let him hurt anyone."

Sam shakes his head. "Samuel will know what to do, Ads. Why didn't the vampire turn you too?"

Addison shrugs. "Maybe he was just way more into Dean than me?" Silence settles over the room as Sam goes to get a glass of water. He frowns hearing water from the bathroom going. Sam races over to the bathroom and opens the door, only to find it empty and the window open.

* * *

The motel room was silent when Dean reenters the room. Sam nor Addison were there. "I'm fine," Addison says. Dean frowns and looks around the room. She wasn't in the room, but her voice was loud and clear.

"I worry about you, Ads," Patrick replies. Dean stares in disbelief. He hadn't heard that voice in over ten years. But it was clear who it belonged to. "I don't like the idea of you hunting, even if you're with Dean and Sam."

"I'm thirty-two. And it may just end up being just me and Sam since Dean's kinda a vampire right now."

"How's he handling it?"

"Not good. I'm worried about him. He's running around the city, all hopped up with vampire senses. He was barely handling it in just the motel room. I just hope that he didn't go to see Lisa and Ben."

"So, if Dean went to see Lisa and Ben, where would he go after visiting them?"

"Well, he would either come find me or Sam," Addison replies. "It's what he does on his 'I'm going to die' tour. So, I guess I hang out in the motel room and wait for him to come back."

"Just make sure to have a vial of dead man's blood on hand."

"Already got it."

"Good. Well, uh, if you need anymore help call me, okay."

"Okay," Addison replies, entering the motel room. She hangs up her phone and shoves it in her back pocket.

Dean crosses the room and slams her against the door. She stares up at him, terrified. He could hear her heart racing. And a coppery smell was invading his senses. "I can smell you."

"Yeah, well, um, it's what happens when you have lady parts, Jaws," Addison nervously replies. He closes his eyes and inhales the apple scent emitting from her hair. "Dean, please let me go."

Dean grabs her jaw and stares at her neck. Her heart beat was pounding in his ears. "What it'd take?"

"What are you talking about," Addison asks. She slowly starts reaching behind, but he grabs her arm and slams it against the wall.

"I'm talking about Patrick being alive, Addison. And don't lie. I heard you talking to him."

Addison swallows. He watches the movement. "How about you let me go and I'll tell you everything, Dean? I promise."

Dean shoves away from her and moves across the room. He could feel the vampire teeth fighting to make their way out. He listens as Addison lets out a relived breath and leans against the wall. "You can't keep track of your brother now," Samuel asks as he and Sam enter the room.

"Well, I didn't think he'd just—" Sam begins.

"He's not himself, Sam. He's a monster and he's hungry. We gotta be prepare to do the right thing."

"I told you he'd kill me when he showed up," Dean comments, walking over to them.

The men quickly pull out machetes. "Did you feed," Samuel asks.

"I went to say goodbye to Lisa, which, for the record, was a lousy idea."

"Dean, answer the question."

Addison looks up, curious to hear his answer. "You can relax. I didn't drink anyone," Dean tells them.

"Thank God."

"But I came close." Dean shrugs off his jacket and nods. "All right. Do it."

"Okay, if you insist," Samuel says, moving towards him. "Or I can just turn you back."

Dean stares. "What?"

Addison blinks. "Sorry, what?"

Samuel looks between the hunters. "I didn't drive all this way to kill you, Dean. I'm here to save you." Samuel walks over to the table and pulls out an old journal. They all sit down, though Addison made sure that Sam was in between her and Dean. Samuel slides the journal across the table to Dean. "That's my grandfather's journal. The cure's an old Campbell recipe, kind of like the soup. No one's tried it since God knows. From what I hear, the stuff is a bad trip."

"Awesome," Dean mutters.

"Hey, the cure is good. But a lot of this is on you. You drink, you're done. It won't work. I'm talking one drop of human blood."

"I got it."

"Do you? Because you will feed. It's a matter of time."

Dean slams the journal shut. "What else do we need?"

"Some stuff we got, some we gotta get. The trickiest thing, blood of the fang who turned you."

"Oh, lovely. Going up against a big guy who is also a vamp," Addison comments.

Samuel shrugs. "There's nothing in the recipe about easy."

"I can get it," Dean replies.

"You gonna walk right into the nest?"

"Well, I'm one of them, aren't I? So all I gotta do is get in there, get the guy alone, and shoot him with so much dead man's blood he'll think he's rushing a fraternity."

"I should come with you," Sam says.

"No. Dude, you reek. You're like a walking hamburger. I gotta do this solo."

"Yeah, except we haven't been able to find them yet."

"No problem. I can smell 'em. They're two miles east of town. You guys get the other shit and meet me there," Dean tells them, pulling on his jacket.

"Dean," Samuel calls and Dean looks at him. Samuel holds up a syringe. "It's dead man's blood. Now, there's enough there to drop a linebacker and then some. Good luck, son."

Dean takes the syringe and walks out of the room. Addison sighs and stands up. "Well, before we hit the road, I gotta hit the head," she tells them.

Addison shoots them a smile, then disappears into the bathroom. Samuel walks over to where Sam was preparing a bag. "What the hell's wrong with you, Sam," Samuel asks.

Sam looks up at him, confused. "What do you mean?"

"You knew about the cure."

"What? No, I didn't."

"We talked about it months ago."

"Not me. It must have been Christian or something."

"Huh. That's strange because if you had known, it'd be almost like you let him get turned. Get a man on the inside, help us find that alpha vamp we've been looking for."

"You serious? You'd think I'd do something like that, risk my own brother? What's wrong with you?" Sam shakes his head as Samuel continues staring at him. "Look, I'm just relieved we can fix him."

Sam grabs the duffle bag of supplies and walks out of the room. Addison walks out of the bathroom and moves to grab her bag of supplies, when Samuel grabs her arm. "I think it's best if you waited here," Samuel says.

Addison frowns and pulls her arm out of his grip. "Dean's my best friend and I'm not gonna let him do this alone."

* * *

After collecting the rest of the needed supplies, they drive in the direction Dean had told them until finding the Impala parked along the side. The building was an old abandoned bank. "This must be the place," Samuel says.

"Shh," Sam tells them.

A thud hits the top of the van and a vampire leans down, growling. He busts the window. Sam quickly hops out of the van and dispatches the vampire when it leaps at him. "Well, there goes the undercover plan," Addison comments.

"Let's go."

They quickly make their way into the abandoned bank. As they make their way further into the back, they come upon numerous headless bodies. "Looks like your brother has some Campbell in him after all," Samuel comments.

The enter the main area and find Dean sitting in the lower part. There was only one body and a bloody trail led to a head resting under Dean's foot. "Dean, you okay," Addison calls.

"Yeah, I'm good," Dean answers after a moment. They stand there for a moment, then make their way down to him.

* * *

"If this works, it's not gonna be a kiddie ride. You know that," Samuel warns, filling a syringe with the antidote. They were standing around the table as Samuel finished making the antidote. Addison and Sam exchange a look as Dean clenches the edge of the table.

"That's great. Light her up," Dean anxiously replies.

"So, what'd you see in there," Sam asks.

"What?"

"In the nest. What'd you see?"

"Sam, I can't hear you. Your blood is so fucking loud, okay. Just back off." Samuel pours the completed cure into a mug. "All right, give me the damn cure." Samuel hands him the mug and Dean recoils at the smell. He holds it up. "L'chaim." They watch as he gulps it down. Nothing. "I don't think it—"

Dean turns and throws up into a conveniently placed bucket. "Is it working," Addison asks.

Samuel pulls out a machete. "Either that or he's dying."

Dean groans and looks up at the ceiling. The vampire teeth had forced their way out. His eyes were red. "Dean," Addison says, when he falls back. Sam grabs her arm and stops her from moving towards him. They watch as the vampire teeth disappear. A few minutes later, Dean groans and Sam helps him sit up. They all let a relived breath.

* * *

Dean walks out of the bathroom and watches as they pack up. Something was definitely going on with Sam. He kept seeing Sam standing in that alley, looking pleased. And the terrified looks on Lisa's and Ben's faces. Addison had even been scared of him. Sam looks up. "Hey," he says. "So, what'd you see?"

Dean frowns, confused. "What?"

"In the nest, what'd you see?"

"Uh, well, I'm still working through it but they're not figuring out anything on their own. They're getting their orders from the top. Where to go next, everything."

"The top as in..." Samuel trails off.

"Their alpha. At least that's what I think it. I mean, they've got some sort of psychic thing happening. He sends them, uh, I don't know messages."

"Saying what?"

"Honestly? Recruitment drive. Their alpha's building army."

"Lovely," Addison mutters.

"That's not the worst."

"Then what is," Sam asks.

"We don't scare them anymore."

Addison sighs. "And that's just the icing on the cake."

Once outside, Sam and Addison hang back, allowing Dean some privacy to call Lisa. When they see him put his phone up, they walk over to the trunk and throw their bags. "How'd it go with Lisa," Sam asks as Dean closes the trunk.

"It didn't," Dean answers.

Addison shoots him a sad smile. "Sorry."

"Yeah. At least, uh, you guys got my back. No matter what happens, I can always count on you. Right?"

"Yeah. Of course, Dean," Sam tells him.

"Ditto," Addison agrees. Dean nods and they all climb into the Impala. Deep down, his gut kept telling him there was something going on. And he was determined to get to the bottom of it.

* * *

Addison jumps when she walks out of the gas station bathroom and finds Dean waiting for her. "Jesus Christ, Dean," she snaps, placing a hand on her heart. She takes a deep breath and looks at him. "What do you want?"

"What did you do to bring Patrick back, Addison," Dean angrily demands.

"I didn't do anything. He was never dead."

Dean frowns. "You said he got bit and you put a silver bullet in his heart. If he was alive the entire time, then why would you lie?"

Addison takes a deep breath. "He faked getting bit. There was a werewolf, but it never bit him. He lied to me. When we went to the woods, he went to use the bathroom, and he knocked me out. When I woke up, he was gone. So, I lied to everyone because he's my dad and I didn't want a bunch hunters looking for him because I thought he was a werewolf."

"And how did you find out?"

"Samuel found him. Apparently, Dad had spent the last decade hunting. He changed his name and appearance."

Dean runs a hand over his face. "How long have you known?"

"Since the beginning of the year." Addison shifts. "Dean, I don't trust him. Sam and Samuel may trust him, but I can't. He says that he did it to protect me-"

"Protect you from what?"

"He won't say. He just says that I don't need to worry about it. I don't trust him and Sam's been...different ever since he came back. I thought it was because of the cage, but something's off. And I'm sorry that I didn't tell you before."

"Why the hell didn't you tell me about Sam?"

"I picked up the phone so many times to call you, Dean. But I didn't because Sam told me not and truth be told, part of me is...scared of him."

Dean runs a hand over his once more. He could sense that something was off about Sam and Addison's confession just made the feeling in his gut even more stronger.


	6. You Can't Handle the Truth

Chapter 06 — You Can't Handle the Truth

Sam raises an eyebrow as Addison smoothers a hotdog in ketchup. "Shut up," she snaps as he pays the vendor. He spots a paper on a nearby table and grabs it. Dean was off, trying to talk to Lisa for the umpteenth time that week. Sam shows her the headline and Addison shrugs. "Could be something. We've checked out less."

Sam places a hand on her lower back as they walk over to where Dean was sitting at a park bench. "We're getting our own room after this case," he tells her.

Addison frowns. "Why?"

"I don't think Dean would be happy to watch me throw you on a bed and eat you out until you cum," Sam replies, causing Addison to choke on her hotdog. He pats on her back and leans down. "You can handle my dick in your mouth, but not a hotdog, Ads?"

Addison shoots him an annoyed look. "I wasn't expecting you to say that. Can we just go talk to Dean about the case?"

"Sure. But it's not gonna change about what I want to do once we get a room to ourselves."

They reach Dean just as he hangs up his phone. "Hey. I, uh, I was just leaving Lisa a message," Dean tells them.

"Still hasn't called you back, huh," Sam replies.

"No."

"Sucks."

"Yeah. You okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine. How are you?"

"Me? Great," Sam answers. "Here, look, check this out. Think it might be something." Sam hands him the newspaper. The article was about a rash of suicides in a small town not far from them. "Four people, out of nowhere. All in the last couple weeks. What do you say?"

"Yeah. Sounds like a plan," Dean replies.

"Let's go."

* * *

"I don't understand. Why would federal investigators be interested in a suicide," the latest suicide victim's sister asks. Sam and Addison were sitting the in the sister's home, while Dean was searching for any kind of clues.

"Well, um, it's a new more caring administration," Sam tells her.

"Well, I already told the cops. Jane was having a really bad day. So I did what any sister would do." Dean walks up and she glances at him before turning back to Sam and Addison. "I tried to cheer her up, you know. Told her to hang in there."

"You know what a tell is," Sam asks.

The sister frowns. "Excuse me?"

"It's a poker term. For when you're bluffing. Like what you just did with your hair."

"What are you trying to say?"

"You're lying."

"What?"

"Tell us what you did to your sister."

The woman looks between the three hunters. "You're right. I was lying," she confesses. "I wanted to tell her, 'I love you, I'm here for you.' But what came out was, 'You're a burden. Just kill yourself.' Who says that? I just couldn't stop."

Addison grabs a tissue box off the table and holds it out. "We are so sorry for your loss. And we greatly appreciate your time," she gently tells her.

The trio makes their way out of the small house. "See anything in the house," Sam asks.

"No hex bags, no sulfur, no EMF," Dean replies. "You?"

"A tuba and an issue of Crochet Today. So, what, already kind of suicidal?"

"Yeah. Her sister's confession pushes her over the edge," Addison says. "But why would she say all that in the first place?"

"Yeah, that is the question."

* * *

"I'm gonna have nightmares about this case," Addison says as she and Sam walk up to the motel room. They were checking out the Biggerson's where Jane had committed suicide when they got wind of a murder.

"Really," Sam asks.

"Uh huh."

They enter the room just as Dean tosses his phone onto the bed next to him. "There was another one," Sam tells him.

"Yeah? What," Dean replies.

"Dentist drilled a guy to death," Addison says, with a shiver. "And no, not the porn version, Dean."

"Fifty bucks says he's mixed up the crazy," Sam says.

"You think," Dean asks.

"Let's go talk to him."

"Okay, uh, why don't you guys go ahead? I'll catch up. I'm gonna do a little research."

Addison and Sam exchange a look. "You sure," Sam asks.

"Yeah. We gotta know what we're up against."

"Yeah. Yeah. Good idea." Sam walks out of the motel. Addison stands there for a moment, then follows Sam.

* * *

Addison sighs watching as a witness walks down the street. She turns to see Sam pulls out his cell. "Not exactly," he says. "He hung himself in his cell before we could get to him. But he was definitely involved. Just got the scoop from his assistant. Yeah. The stuff that his patient was confessing to? I'd have murdered him too. Getting hit with the ugly truth till you go postal? I'd call that a curse."

Addison groans. "I hate curses."

"Do us a favor. We're going to the morgue to check out the body. Why don't you take the dentist's office? See what you can see." Sam shoves his phone into this pocket and they make their way to the morgue.

The coroner pulls out the dentist. A bright red mark was on his neck. "Now, we'd actually like to see all the suicides that came in this week, not just Dr. Giggles," Sam tells the coroner and the man just stares at them. "Is that gonna be a problem?"

"Well, they're already gone," the coroner replies.

"You mean, they've already been transferred to funeral homes," Addison asks.

"Yeah, not exactly."

"Would you like tell me what's going on," Sam asks. "Or should we have a little chat with your supervisor?"

"They're gone."

"As in 'gone' gone?" The coroner nods as Sam and Addison exchange a look.

* * *

Addison looks around the apartment. Her and Sam had made their way to a victim's apartment. Cats were on display all over the apartment. Sam was talking with the victim's sister. She slips into the bedroom and it was much like the rest of the apartment. She kneels down and finds a wooden box under the bed. "Bingo," she whispers, pulling out the box. Addison opens the box and finds it filled with random objects, including a cat skull. "Okay." She closes the box and picks it up. Sam and the sister stand up when she reenters the living room. Addison lifts up the box. "We're gonna have to take this as evidence."

"Okay," the sister replies.

"Well, thank you for your time," Addison says. Once outside the apartment, she hands the box to Sam and he goes through it.

"Sorry, Mittens," Sam comments, holding up the cat skull. They run into Dean as they make their way down the stars. "Hey, where you been? We found something."

"It can wait. We gotta talk," Dean replies.

"Yeah. What's up?"

"There's a few things I wanna ask you, and, uh, you're gonna tell me the truth."

"I am having the best sex I have ever had in my life," Addison casually confesses and she frowns. "Why did I just say that?"

Dean stares at her. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Like so good, I forget what my name is," Addison says. She closes her eyes in realization of what she had just said.

The boys watch as Addison walks past them and out of the building. Sam frowns and looks at Dean. "Did you..." Sam starts.

"I asked for the truth," Dean interrupts. "And, you know what, I'm getting it. So like I said, I have a few questions for you. When that vamp attacked me, why did you just stand there?"

Sam sighs. "I didn't. I froze."

"You froze? You've been Terminator since you got back."

"I don't know, shock. And then it was too late. I feel terrible about it, believe me." A disbelieving look crosses Dean's face. "Dean, I can't lie here. Do you really think I would let something like that happen on purpose? You're my brother. How could you—"

"Okay. Okay. Sorry. I - I thought I saw something. I guess I was wrong. It's just been a really, really bad day."

"Hey, it's okay. I got your back, all right? I always have."

Dean nods. "Thanks, Sammy."

The boys walk out of the building and see Addison sitting on a bench. The moment she sees them, Addison stands up. She looks between them. "This isn't awkward at all," she mutters.

* * *

"So this was the chick's pet," Dean asks, examining the cat skull. He sits down at the table next to Sam with a glass of whiskey. There was no way he'd be able to make it through the rest of this hunt with some forum of liquid help.

"Well, she was obsessed," Sam replies.

"I think you mean crazy."

"All right. So cat skull, uh, grains of paradise seed, devil's shoestring. Mix them well, you got yourself a summoning spell."

Addison frowns. "For a demon?"

"God," Sam corrects. "Corey was so desperate for the truth about her boyfriend's cheating heart that she went digging around. Nothing panned out, so she went looking for a different kind of help."

Dean shakes his head. "Opened a door she couldn't close."

"Yeah. And now anyone in town who asks aloud for the truth, invokes Veritas. And she just doesn't give it to you, she slams you with it till you kill yourself and she gets her tribute."

"So all that tribute vanishing from the morgue. What do you think? A _Soylent Green_ situation?"

"A god's gotta eat too which means we gotta take her out or you're on the menu."

Addison frowns and looks at Dean. "Are you okay? I mean, you don't feel the need to put a bullet in your brain or anything, do you?"

Dean shoots her an annoyed look. "What do we know? Besides crazy cat lady."

"Well, dogs are her Achilles heel," Sam replies.

"Naturally."

"And she was a pretty hands on goddess back in the day. Her thing was coming down from the mountain to speak truth to the masses. She wanted more than tribute, she wanted to be worshiped."

"An attention whore."

Sam chuckles. "If you wanna put it that way."

"And what is the twenty-first century version of speaking truth to the masses?"

* * *

"Check this out," Sam says and Dean and Addison join him by his computer. The trio had spent the majority of the morning and part of the night before going through footage of a local reporter, looking for anything unusual. He plays the footage of Ashley Frank, an investigative reporter, and her reaction to a barking dog.

"Zoom in on that," Dean says. Sam zooms in on the footage to reveal glowing blue eyes.

"Can we go kill her now and put things back to normal," Addison asks. "Because this whole speaking the truth thing is really annoying."

"I second that," Dean mutters, walking over to the coffee pot.

Sam shuts his laptop and walks into the bathroom. "Please tell me that you can see something is really off with Sam," Addison quietly says. Dean runs a hand over his face. "I mean, it's like he's a robot or something. It's like it's not Sam but it is at the same time. And lets not forget when you're not around he can't keep his hands to himself. Plus some of the stuff he says is more than enough to make me—"

"Addison," Dean snaps.

Addison winces. "Sorry. But you can't deny that something weird is going on with Sam. It's probably the whole reason you got cursed, right?"

"Yeah and I know that he's not lying." Dean frowns. There was something he had been curious about. "Why did you start hooking up with Sam?"

"Oh, it kinda just happened. "

Dean blinks. "It kinda just happened."

"Yeah. I mean, we were leaving this bar after hustling some folks and the next thing I know is that we're in the backseat of the Charger and I'm having the best sex that I've had in years. I mean, you're good, Dean, but holy shit Sam is way—"

Dean shoots her an annoyed look. "Addison!"

"Hey, don't look at me. You're the one that wanted the truth." Addison shrugs and sits down on the bed. "And now it's awkward."

Dean shakes his heads. "It's not…" He trails off at her raised eyebrow. "Yeah, it's a little awkward. Why the hell did you ditch me anyway?"

Addison crosses her arms over chest. "You know exactly why, Dean."

"That's a bullshit reason, Ads. And leaving a note, that was just a shit thing to do." Addison turns and starts to leave but he grabs her arm. "No, we're not done talking about this."

"There's nothing left to talk about, Dean." Addison shakes her head. "And it's not a bullshit reason. I wasn't going to take away something that you have always wanted. You might not have ever actually said it, but, Dean, your actions speak volumes. And if me leaving in the middle of the night still has you pissed after a year, then that's on you. Because guess what? You could've fucking looked for me."

That night, they wait for Ashley Frank to leave the local news station and follow her to a large house on the outskirts of town. "Looks pretty normal, right," Sam asks.

"I'm sure inside it's chock full of creep," Dean replies. He hands Addison a sliver knife before giving one to Sam. "Ready?"

"Yes," Addison exclaims.

Sam holds up a jar of blood. "And that's..." Dean trails off.

"Dog's blood," Sam tells them, as they dip the knives into the blood.

"Do I even wanna know where you got that?"

"Probably not." Dean watches as Veritas walks up the stairs inside her house. "All right, let's do this."

They climb out of the Impala and make their way into the house. Nothing unusual jumped out as they search the house. "So where's all the creep," Sam asks as they enter the dining room.

A cat runs past them. After exchanging a look, the trio follows the cat down into the basement. They enter a room and find a portrait of Veritas hanging on the wall. Another cat runs out of a room and they enter it. A body was lying on a metal table with a cat eating it. Another body was hanging from the ceiling, while a third was propped up. "You came for dinner." They turn and see Veritas standing in the doorway. She raises a hand and sends them flying backwards across the room.

* * *

Addison groans and opens her eyes. She was tied to a metal bar next to Dean while Sam was tied to one across the room. Her hands brush against his as she tries to get the ropes undone. "Sit tight," Veritas says, taking a surgical clamp out of a drawer. "You're up next." They watch as Veritas pulls out the tongue out of the propped up body and holds it up. "The tongue is the tastiest part. It's where the lies roll off."

"Gross," Addison mutters as Veritas takes a bite of the tongue.

"I cannot wait to eat yours. I mean, I've seen liars before, but you three? Gold standard."

"Point of professional pride," Dean says.

Veritas tosses the tongue onto the table and moves around the room. "I wouldn't be so cocky if I were you, Dean. You know what happens when you base your life on lies, right? The truth comes along and…So, while you've still got your tongue, God knows you've gotten earful. I think it's your turn to spill some." Veritas kneels down next to Dean and Addison. "How about we play a little truth or truth? What should we ask Dean first, hmm? Something personal about you? Hey, Dean, I'm curious. What do you really feel about your brother?"

"Better now," Dean confesses after a moment. "As of yesterday, I wanted to kill him in his sleep. I thought he was a monster. But now I think..."

"Now you think what?"

"He's just acting like me."

"What do you mean?"

"It's the gig. You're covered in blood till you're covered in your own blood. Half the time you're about to die. Like right now. I told myself I wanted out, that I wanted a family."

"But you were lying."

"No. Maybe to myself about the person I wanted to have a family with." Addison stares at Dean, but he avoids her questioning gaze. "But what I'm good at is slicing throats. I ain't a father. I'm a killer. And there's no changing that. I know that now."

Veritas pats Dean's shoulder and stands up. She walks over to Sam. "So, Sam walking back into you life must have been a relief. Mallory to your Mickey."

"Oh, yeah, it's all about them," Addison complains. "I'm nothing more than the third wheel."

Veritas shoots her a smirk before turning back to Sam. "And how do you feel about the band getting back together? Sam?"

Sam glances at his older brother before turning back to Veritas. "Look. What we do is hard but we watch out for each other. And that's what's important. And that's it. That's the truth."

Veritas shakes her head. "No. No, it's not."

"You said yourself, I can't lie."

Veritas glares. "How are you doing that? That's not possible. You're lying to me."

"No, I'm not."

"What are you," Veritas demands. She turns to Dean and Addison. "What is he?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Really? I doubt that. I doubt anything that comes out your mouth right now. You're not human."

"What," Dean asks, stunned.

"You didn't know that? Now, that I believe."

The ropes around Sam's hands snap and he tosses a pocket knife towards Dean and Addison before lunging for Veritas. Addison hobbles up and slides the knife to where Dean can reach it. "Don't cut me," Addison tells him. Dean rolls his eyes and gets to cutting the rope.

Veritas punches Sam and the dog blood covered knife slides across the floor. She straddles him and wraps her hands around his throat. The ropes around Dean's and Addison's hands snap and they jump up. Dean grabs a meat hook and runs over to them. He slams the hook in Veritas' back. Her face goes catlike and she hisses at them. Sam grabs the knife he dropped and stabs Veritas in the heart. She gasps for air as she dies and her body goes limp. Sam shoves her off and stands up. Dean holds his knife in front of him. Addison stands back, her grip on her own knife tightening.

Sam holds up his hands. "Dean, it's me."

"You are not my brother," Dean coldly says, moving towards him.

"Just listen—"

"What are you?"

"It's me, Dean. Ads, tell him."

Addison shakes her head. "You - you are not Sam."

"Look, please, just let me explain."

"Why the hell should I believe anything you say," Dean argues.

"Okay, okay. You want the truth? Here it is. God's honest. She was right. There's something wrong with me. Really wrong. I've known it for a while. I've lied to you. Yeah. And I let you get turned by that vamp because I knew there was a cure and we needed in that nest and I knew you could handle it."

"Handle it? I could have died. I could have killed Ben."

"That should stop me cold. But I - I just don't feel it."

"You what?"

"Ever since I came back. I am a better hunter than I've ever been. Nothing scares me anymore because I can't feel it. I don't know what's wrong with me. I think...I need help."

Dean stares at his younger brother for a moment. He turns away and lays the knife down on a shelf. Sam lets out a relived breath. Dean punches him and knocks down him. Addison stands back as Dean continues punching Sam until he's unconscious. Dean looks at her and she can do nothing but stare back.


	7. Family Matters

Chapter 07 - Family Matters

Addison sits on the bed farthest away from where an unconscious Sam was tied up. Dean was sitting in a chair close to Addison. Castiel was standing near Sam. After knocking Sam out, Dean and Addison had dragged him back to the motel room. Neither of them had said much since leaving Veritas' house. Sam groans and the angel leans in close. "You're right. He looks terrible," Castiel comments. He glances at Dean. "You did this?"

Sam blinks and leans back. "Cas?" He tries lifting his arms only to find his hands tied. Castiel grabs Sam's face and forces open an eye. "Let me go."

"Has he been feverish," Castiel asks and Sam frowns in confusion.

"Have you," Dean coldly asks Sam.

"No," Sam replies as Castiel releases him. "Why?"

Castiel glances at Dean. "Is he speaking in tongues? Are you speaking in tongues?"

"No. What are you—" Sam frowns. "Are you diagnosing me?"

"You better hope he can," Dean says.

"You really think this is—"

Castiel places two fingers on his neck. "You think there's a clinic out there for people who just pop out of hell wrong," Dean snaps, walking over to him. "He asks, you answer, then you shut your fucking hole. You got it?"

"How much do you sleep," Castiel asks, lowering his hand.

"I don't," Sam answers.

Addison frowns. "At all?"

"Not since I got back."

"And it never occurred to you that there might be something off about that," Dean shouts.

"Of course it did, Dean. I - I - I just never told you."

Castiel frowns and looks at Dean. "What?"

"Sam, what are you feeling now," Castiel asks.

Sam scoffs. "I feel like my nose is broken."

"No, that's a physical sensation. How do you feel?"

"I think—"

"Feel."

"I don't know." Castiel and Dean exchange a look. Sam frowns in confusion. Castiel pulls off his belt and rolls up his sleeve. "What, uh..."

"This will be unpleasant."

"What?"

"Bite down on this." Castiel shoves the belt into Sam's mouth. "If there's some place that you find soothing, you should go there in your mind." The angel shoves his hand into Sam's chest and Sam lets out a muffled scream. After a moment, Castiel pulls out his hand and Sam takes a gasping breath.

"You find anything," Dean asks.

"No."

"Is - is that good news," Addison asks.

"I'm afraid not. Physically, he's perfectly healthy."

"Then what," Dean questions.

"It's his soul. It's gone."

Dean and Addison stare at Sam, shocked. Dean runs a hand over his face and paces around the room. "Um...I'm sorry. One more time, like I'm five. What do you mean he's got no—"

"Some how, when Sam was resurrected it was without his soul."

"Then where's his soul," Addison asks.

"My guess is it's still in the cage with Michael and Lucifer."

"So is he even still Sam," Dean asks.

"Well, you pose an interesting philosophical question."

"Well, then just get it back."

"Dean—"

"Well, you pulled me out."

"It took several angels to rescue you and you weren't nearly as well guarded. Sam's soul is in Lucifer's cage. There's a difference. A big difference. It's not possible."

"But there's gotta be a way."

"So, are you gonna untie me," Sam asks.

"No."

"Listen, I'm not gonna—"

"Sam, how am I supposed to let you out of this room?"

"Dean, I'm not some psycho. I didn't want you to get hurt. I was just trying to stop the vamps." Sam sighs. "I'm sorry. It won't ever happen again. Please let me go."

"You're kidding, right?"

"What are you gonna do, just keep me locked up in forever?"

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

"Okay, fine. Look, I get it. I get it, Dean. I was wrong. But I'm telling you, I'm trying to get right. It's still me."

"Is it?"

"Yes. So just let me go."

"No way in hell."

Dean turns away from him. Sam sighs. "I didn't want it to come to this." Sam stands up and pulls the ropes off his hands. "You're not gonna hold me. Not here, not in a panic room, not anywhere. You're stuck with the soulless guy so you might as well work with me. Let's fix this."

Dean walks towards him. "I'm gonna be watching every move you make."

"Fine. Sounds about right to me."

"Cas, clean him up." Castiel press his fingers to Sam's forehead. The bruises, blood, and Sam's broken nose are instantly fixed. "All right, if we're gonna figure what happened to your soul, then we need to find who yanked you out," Dean tells Sam. "You say you don't know."

"No idea," Sam replies.

"Then we start a list. If it's so hard to spring someone out of the box, then who's got that kind of muscle?"

"I don't know," Castiel replies. He turns to Sam. "You have no memory of your resurrection?"

"I woke up in a field. That's all I got," Sam tells them.

"No clues? None?"

"I've got one."

* * *

The Campbell compound was filled with hunters preparing. The majority of them were sharpening machetes. A few were preparing syringes with blood. "Gramps throws a barbecue and leaves us off the e-vite list," Dean comments, looking around.

"Sam," Christian greets, walking over to them. They embrace in a bro hug. "Dean. Addison."

"Hello, Newman. Where's the man," Dean asks.

Christian points in the direction of Samuel's office and the trio make their way across the room. Samuel was researching something, but definitely looked like he had been doing something else before they barged in. "Come right on in," he greets.

"Need to ask you a few questions," Dean says as Sam closes the door.

"What's wrong?"

"The day you got back, what happened?"

Samuel sighs. "We've been over this."

"Well, recap it for our wingman."

Castiel appears with a flutter of wings. Samuel turns and looks over the angel. "This Castiel?" Castiel nods. "You're scrawnier than I pictured."

"This is a vessel," Castiel points out. "My true form is the approximately size of your Chrysler Building."

Addison looks at Castiel with a smirk on her face. "Really?"

Dean shoots her an annoyed look. "All right, all right, quit bragging. So you were dead and..."

"And, pow, I was on Elton Ridge. Don't know how, don't know why," Samuel tells them. "I got nothing to hide, guys."

"Well, you mind if Cas here double checks?"

Castiel rolls up his sleeve. Addison winces as they watch the angel check Samuel's soul. The door bursts open and Christian runs in, shotgun ready. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. It's okay, it's okay," Sam tells him.

"What the hell," Christian asks.

"Angel cavity search," Dean answers.

"I'm fine, Christian, just give us a minute," Samuel tells him, panting from the pain.

Christian frowns. "But—"

"Just give us a minute." Christian looks between the trio and Castiel before reluctantly leaving the room. "What the hell was that about?"

"His soul's intact," Castiel states.

Samuel stares. "What? Of course I have a—" He looks at Sam. "What's going on, Sam?"

"Whatever dragged me out left a piece behind," Sam says. "Did you know?"

"No." Samuel shakes his head, sighing. "I knew it was something. You're a hell of a hunter, Sam. But truth is, sometimes you scare me. So what's the deal here? How do we fix this? How do we get his soul back?"

"We don't know yet," Dean confess. "But we have to."

"Well, I'm here to help, of course. What leads you working?"

"A bunch of dead ends and you," Sam says.

"Well, then, we'll just have to dig."

"Sam, Dean, Addison," Castiel says, turning away from the window. "I have to get back."

"You're leaving," Dean asks.

"I'm in the middle of a civil war."

"You better tear the attic up, find something to help Sam."

"Of course, your problems always come first. I'll be in touch."

Castiel disappears with a flutter of wings. "I would have asked him to stick around for a beer," Samuel says.

"So what's with the book club outside," Dean asks.

"Putting together a hunt."

"That's a lot of hunters for one hunt," Addison points out.

Realization flashes over Sam's face. "You found him, didn't you."

"Who," Dean asks.

"He's got a lead on the alpha vamp."

Dean turns back to Samuel. "Do you?"

"Maybe," Samuel replies. He nods. "Yeah."

"How'd you track him down?"

"We're good."

"That's all I get? We're good?"

"When's the run," Sam asks.

"Dawn," Samuel answers.

"And you didn't call me? Why?"

Samuel avoids looking at him. "Because of me," Dean states. "You don't trust me very much, do you? Especially when it comes to big game like this."

"That's not true," Samuel argues.

Dean nods, not believing him. "Okay. Well, then we're in."

"No offense, but—"

"So you don't trust me?"

Samuel looks at him. "No, I just don't know you. Not like I know Sam."

"All right. You call the plays, a hundred percent. I'm here to listen."

Samuel scoffs. "Since when?"

"Big Daddy Bloodsucker? I ain't gonna miss that. But this is your deal, okay? I get it. I'll follow your lead. I trust you."

* * *

"I don't trust him," Dean says as they walk out of the compound. In his long hunting career, he had learned to always trust his gut and he could feel that something was off. "Dude's hiding something."

"What," Sam asks.

"I can feel it. If you weren't RoboSam, you'd feel it too."

"Huh."

"What?"

"Just saying you don't trust family."

"Look, we hang close, we blend in, see what we pick up."

"You think Samuel's connected to this whole soul thing?"

"I still think he's the only lead we got."

"Addison!" The trio turns to see Patrick jogging towards them. Dean glances at Addison and he sees her tense. Patrick had aged since the last time Dean had seen him. There was more grey mixed in his jet black hair and he had more wrinkles around his bright blue eyes.

Dean steps forward as Patrick reaches them. "What do you want?"

Patrick raises an eyebrow. "It's nice to finally see you, Dean. How have you been?"

"What the fuck do you want, Patrick?"

"I want to talk to my daughter."

Dean shakes his head. "Anything you want to say to Ads, you can say in front of me."

Patrick stares at him. "You don't trust me."

"You faked your death and made us all think you were dead for the past eleven years. Of course, I don't trust you."

"I was trying to protect Addison."

"Protect me from what," Addison demands. "I'm an adult, Dad. I'm more than capable of taking care of myself, especially after all the shit I've been through while you were gone. So, what were you trying to protect me from?"

"You were supposed to marry Wes and have a normal life, Addison," Patrick softly says. "You're in this life because I listened to an angel instead going with my gut. And by the time I realized it, you were engaged to Wes. I knew that if I was around, you would never fully get out of the life."

"An angel," Dean scoffs as Addison shakes her head and walks away. "You decided to listen to an angel?"

"I was confused and grieving, Dean. If I could go back and change everything, I would."

"Stay away from her," Dean coldly says. "I mean don't even call. Stay away from her."

Patrick shoots Sam a questioning look as Dean follows in the direction Addison had went. "There's nothing you could have done to protect Ads," Sam explains. "Lilith still would've ended up possessing Addison no matter what. And I still would've killed Lilith. All you did was waste time."

* * *

Addison sighs as she stands next to Dean. Anger, disappointment, and a million other emotions had rolled off of Dean during the drive from the compound to the nest. "The house is just over the hill," Samuel tells the group. "About a dozen vamps and the Alpha. We got one shot at this son of a bitch. Christian, Patrick, take flank. The rest of you are with me and Sam. Dean, Gwen, Addison, hang back, sweep any stragglers we flush out." Dean frowns. "Problem, Dean?"

"No, sir," Dean replies.

"I'm in the rear with the rejects," Gwen disbelievingly asks.

"All right, let's go," Samuel tells the others, ignoring her question.

Addison moves to the side and watches as they walks away. "Don't worry," Sam tells them. "It's fine."

"Oh, nothing's fine. You're not fine," Dean counters. He shakes his head. "Go. Go."

The three hunters make their way to the back of the building. "Sorry about the 'rejects' thing," Gwen says, breaking the silence that had settled over them.

"We've been called worse," Dean replies.

"Just, uh, got sick of getting left behind. I think it's probably because I remind him of his daughter or something."

"Well, you speak your mind."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"Well, you should."

A twig snaps and they turn. They each pull out their machetes, ready. A vampire tackles Gwen and jumps up. Addison swings her machete the vampire falls to the ground, headless. Gunfire goes off and Dean takes off running. "We're supposed to wait here," Gwen calls.

Addison stands there for a moment, then runs after him. Dean's at a gate in front of the old house when he turns and raises his machete. She holds up her hands and he shakes his head, turning back to the look at the scene before them. "You should've stayed back," Dean says.

"And let you have all the fun," Addison replies.

They make their way around the house. Dead vampires and hunters were strewn about. A banging on the window and they watch as a vampire kills the hunter. They hear Samuel yelling and move around the house. They stop and watch as Samuel, Sam, Christian, Patrick, and a couple of other hunters shove a hooded figure into the back of a van. Addison starts to move forward, but Dean covers her mouth and yanks her back. She raises an eyebrow. He wraps a hand around her wrist and they make their way to Gwen. "Where were you two," she asks.

"Everything all right here," Samuel asks, walking over with Sam, Patrick, and the other hunters in tow.

Addison turns to Dean, who exchanges a look with Gwen. "Just, uh, chopped up a runner. No big deal," Gwen lies. "How'd it go?"

"Rough. But one alpha down."

Addison frowns. "Where is it," she asks. Samuel turns to her and Patrick frowns. "I just - I've never seen alpha before."

"Not much left to see. Already on pyre," Samuel says, then climbs into his van. Addison turns to Dean and he looked unconvinced. Patrick stands there for a moment, then climbs into the van.

The silence over the Impala was tense. Dean didn't trust Sam. She didn't trust Sam, but she trusted Dean. And there was no telling who Sam trusted besides Samuel. "Things go okay back there," Dean asks.

"Fine," Sam answers.

"Nothing weird?" Sam remains silent. Dean slams on the brakes and pulls the Impala off to the side of the road. Dean climbs out of the Impala and Sam and Addison follow suit. "We saw you walk that alpha out the door, Sam. Now, call me crazy, but that seems weird."

"Oh."

"Oh," Dean incredulously repeats.

"You guys weren't supposed to know about that."

"Know what?"

"It's just something Samuel's been doing. Catching things, taking them somewhere, grilling them for info."

"Grill. Torture, right? And not telling me that was his idea?"

"No. It was mine."

"Why?"

"Honestly? Because you'd mess it up. You're shoot first, ask questions later. And we needed to ask questions."

Dean shakes his head. "You know, I - I don't care if you've got soullessness or the fucking mumps, man. You know better than this. Do you even want your soul back, Sam?"

"How does that have—"

"Have you been to the place where Samuel takes them? I mean, have you been in on these interrogations?"

"No, but I hear—"

"And what does he want and why? Did it ever occur to you that this is really shady?"

"He's our grandfather."

"Yeah. Yeah. A guy who talks a great game. But you can't assume that family means the same thing to him as it does to us. He's not Dad." Sam shrugs. "Wow. You don't see it, do you?"

"What?"

"You've got no instinct. I mean, you are seriously messed up."

"Thanks."

"I'm not kidding, man. Nobody's forcing you to work with me. Okay? But if we do this, I drive the bus. I call the shots. And you tell me everything whether it's important or not. Because trust me, you can't tell the difference. Or you know what? Go - go with Samuel. See how that goes. It's up to you."

* * *

Addison sighs and turns to Dean as they sit in the Impala. They were parked on the outskirts of the Campbell Compound, waiting for Sam. Addison shifts. "You didn't have to do that," she says and Dean shoots her a questioning look. "Order my dad to stay away from me. I've been fine ignoring him on my own."

"The guy's a fucking idiot, Ads," Dean replies. "You'd think he'd know not to listen to fucking angels."

"He was young and grieving my mom, Dean."

"Don't defend him."

"Trust me, I'm not. But I don't need you to protect me either. I'm more than capable of protecting myself."

"Really, Ads? Because sometimes you act like you need someone to protect you. Isn't that why you told me you thought something was off with Sam?"

"I told you because I thought you deserved to know."

"Oh, so I didn't deserve that my own brother was alive?"

The back door opens and they turn to see Sam sliding in. Sam looks between Dean and Addison. He could sense the tension between them. "You two didn't think I'd come back."

Addison shrugs. "Sixty forty."

Sam nods and pulls out Addison's laptop. "So Samuel didn't take the bait. So I went with Plan B."

"And for Plan B you had to use my computer," Addison snaps.

"Wait, we had a Plan B," Dean asks.

"Fired up the GPS on one of his cell phones. Should be able to tack him right to the alpha," Sam explains.

"The old man won't notice?"

"Trust me. He thinks Velcro is big news." Sam hits 'enter' and the website map zooms in to a red blinking dot. "There. Got him."

Addison leans over the seat and shuts her laptop as Dean starts the Impala. "Stay off of my computer."

Sam shrugs. "Don't leave your diary open."

"You have a diary," Dean asks. He glances at Sam. "What's in it?"

"Dear Diary, I'm still sore from the mind blowing sex I had with Sam. I didn't realize that I could bend that way," Sam recites. Dean tightens his grip on the Impala as they take off down the road and he misses the smirk on Sam's face.

* * *

They follow Samuel to an abandoned warehouse. The door had been covered in dead man's blood. They each pull out a machete as they search the warehouse. They hide in an old office when they hear someone coming. "Just so you know how this shapes up is entirely up to you," Samuel's voice says as they walk down a hallway.

Sam silently pushes open the door. The alpha was strapped down to a chair in a cage and Samuel stood in front of him. Tubes were attached to him, feeding in dead man's blood. Spikes were through the alpha's hands and feet. "Where is it," Samuel asks. "Answer the question. Where is it? How do we find it?" A machine starts and they hear electricity crackling.

"Ouch. Stop. That hurts," the alpha deadpans.

Samuel turns off the machine. "Now this - this is Club Med compared to what we have planned for you. I got all the time in the world."

"Well, that makes two of us." They hear Samuel walk out of the room. "Are you three going to hide all night?" The trio exchanges a look. "Come on out." Dean opens the door wider and they enter the room. "How can I help you?"

"We got some questions for you, Skippy," Dean says, moving forward. "Since you're going nowhere fast."

"Don't be so sure," the alpha replies.

"Yeah? Locked down pretty tight. With all that dead blood rushing through your veins not sure you got enough to juice to fire up that psychic bat signal of yours, do you?"

"True. Not near enough juice for that, Dean."

"I didn't realize we were on a first name basis."

"Of course we are. After all, you were my child for a time. Dean, tell me, did you enjoy it?"

"I'm asking the questions here, Fright Night," Dean snaps, then turns on the machine.

"When your kind first huddled around the fire I was the thing in the dark. Now you think you can hurt me?" Dean turns off the machine. "I have all night. You do not. Anyway, I'm happy to tell you whatever you want to know."

"Why?"

"Why? Because soon I'll be ankle deep in your blood, sucking the marrow from your bones."

"So you're really it," Sam states, taking a step forward. "The first of your species."

"The very first."

"But if you're the first, who made you?"

"Well, we all have our mothers. Even me."

"What - what does that mean," Addison asks.

The alpha laughs. "What with the big surge of vamps lately," Dean questions.

"We're going to war," the alpha answers.

"What's going on? Why did Samuel bring you here," Sam asks.

"You smell cold. You have no soul. What an oddity. Do you feel how empty you are? What is it like to have no soul?"

"Answer my question."

"You first."

"You're the one in the cage."

"The thing about souls, if you've got one, of course, is they're predictable. You die, you go up or down. Where do my kind go?"

"All right. Enough with the sermon, freak," Dean snaps.

"I'm trying to answer the question. Now, when we freaks die, where do we go?" Addison walks closer to the cage. "Not Heaven, not Hell, so?"

"Legoland," Dean guesses.

"Purgatory," Addison states.

Dean frowns. "Purgatory? Purgatory's real?"

"Oh, stupid cattle," the alpha comments. "Of course. And it is filled with the soul of every hungry thing like me that ever walked this Earth. Now, where is it? That is the mystery. And that is what your kind hearted granddaddy is trying to beat out of me."

"Samuel brought you here to find out where Purgatory is," Sam asks.

"I keep telling him, 'How would I know such a thing?' But he refuses to untie me."

"You know exactly where it is. Why does Samuel care about any of this?"

"He doesn't care. He does as he is told."

The boys exchange a confused look. "Well, if the old man's Kermit, whose hand's up his ass," Dean questions.

Addison tenses as a gun cocks. They turn see Samuel with Christian and another man. "Evening, guys," Samuel greets. "Let's take this outside."

The trio walks out of the room, hands raised. Christian and the other man search them while Samuel stands back. "You know, I have seen some stupid in my time, but you - you take the crown," Dean says. "Putting Jaws in a fish bowl? Man, how you do think that's gonna end? I don't know what kind of game—"

"What, you think I'm doing this for kicks," Samuel interrupts.

"I think you got the rest of these feebs convinced you're John Wayne. So whatever you're doing, whatever you're hiding, it's gonna put you and everyone around you in the ground."

Samuel lunges at the Dean and Dean easily disarms him. Sam holds Christian back. Dean moves to pick up his gun when a shotgun cocks. They turn to see Gwen aiming a shotgun at them. "Hi," she says. Patrick stood a few feet behind her, with a shotgun in his hands and a confused look on his face.

"Gwen." Dean puts his gun down. "And I thought we had something special."

A scream comes from inside the alpha's room. "Grab your stuff," Samuel orders. The trio picks up their weapons and follows the hunters into the room. The alpha was gone and the other man was dead. "How much dead man's blood we got left?" Christian holds up two syringes.

"How long till the alpha's a hundred percent," Dean asks.

"Hour, maybe less. We need to get him back in the cage."

"No."

"What do you mean no?"

"I don't know what your big plan was but playing catch is not on the table. We take the thing's head off or it kills us all. You know that." Samuel looks away. "Okay. We split up, clear every room. You get a shot, take it. It's not gonna kill him but dude will move a lot slower without any kneecaps. And if we make it through this, you, me, and Sam are having one hell of a family meeting."

Dean walks out of the room and they follow him. Dean, Addison, Patrick, and Gwen go one direction while the others go in the opposite direction. The sounds of a struggle reach them and they take off running. They run into the room to find Sam against the wall while Samuel was on the floor. A group of people appear out of nowhere and vanish with the alpha.

Clapping comes from nowhere. They all move forward, searching for the source and find Crowley standing on a balcony. "Well, that was dramatic," the demon greets.

"Crowley," Sam disbelievingly asks.

"Hello, boys. Ads. What an unexpected treat."

"Bring Christian back now," Samuel demands.

"I'm sorry," Crowley confusedly replies, walking down the stairs.

"My nephew. The one you just crammed a demon into!"

"Oh. No, I had him possessed ages ago. Samuel, really. I keep an eye on my investments."

"Whoa, whoa, wait," Dean says. "You two know each other?"

"Not in the biblical sense. More of a business relationship, I'd say. Who happens to work for me."

"You're Crowley's bitch," Sam states.

"It's not what you think," Samuel defends.

"It's precisely what you think," Crowley says. "That alpha he's caught me is getting him a gold star."

"Since when do you give a crap about vampires," Dean asks.

"Since, uh..." Crowley walks over to Addison and she stares at him. The demon smirks at the angry look on Patrick's face. "What's today, love? Friday?" He turns to Dean, who was glaring at him. "Since, let's see, mind your business."

"You may as well share with the class, Crowley," Sam says. "We know you're looking for Purgatory."

"So you heard about that," Crowley replies, turning to him.

"Yeah. You wanna tell us why?"

"Isn't it obvious? Location, location, location. I'm a developer. Purgatory is vast, underutilized, and Hell-adjacent and I want it."

"What for," Dean questions.

"Best shut your gob. Employees don't question management. Isn't that right, love?"

"We ain't your employees."

"Of course you are. Have been for some time, thanks to gramps. I don't keep Captain Chromedome around for his wit, do I? Samuel knows things. More than any of you, actually. Walking encyclopedia of the creepy and crawly. And I knew you two are so hung up on family loyalty nonsense, he said jump, you'd get froggy."

"Yeah, well, game's over," Dean snaps.

"Yeah, well, afraid not. Not if you wanna see Sam's soul ever again."

"You're bluffing," Sam says.

"Tell them, Samuel," Crowley orders.

The trio turns to Samuel. "He pulled us both back, me and Sam," Samuel answers.

"What? You knew," Sam replies.

"No. Cas said it takes big time mojo to pull that off," Dean argues. "You're nothing but a punk ass crossroads demon."

"Was a punk ass crossroads demon," Crowley corrects. "Now? King of Hell. Believe me, I've got the mojo. I snap my fingers, Sam gets his soul back. Or you can be you and I shove Sam right back in the hole. Can't imagine what it's like in there. And I can imagine so many things. So we clear? Me Charlie, you angels. Job's simple enough. Bring me creatures. Aim high on the food chain, please. Everybody wins. It's been a pleasure. See you soon." Crowley vanishes and silence settles over the group.

"It's time to go. Get the van," Samuel tells Gwen and Patrick.

"You're letting a demon call the shots," Gwen incredulously asks.

"Nothing's changed. We hunt. Period. Don't worry about him, I'll take care of it. You trust me or not? Get the van, Gwen." Gwen turns and walks out of the room as Samuel begins packing a duffle bag. The older man looks up when Patrick doesn't move.

"No," Patrick angrily replies, moving to stand next to Addison. "I'm not working with you anymore, Samuel."

"Working with a demon, huh," Sam states. "You're not who I thought you were."

"You don't know anything about me, son."

"So, what's so important that you're the King of Hell's cabana boy," Dean asks. "What's so important? What'd he offer you? Girls? Money? Hair?"

"I got my reasons." Samuel starts to walk out of the room, but the boys blocks his way. "You gonna make a move? Go ahead."

"Or what?"

"Or nothing. I'm not gonna do anything to you, Dean. You boys, you're my family. So the way I see it, you got two choices: put a bullet in your grandfather or step aside."

Sam pulls out his gun and cocks it. Dean pushes his arm down. "He sold us out," Sam reminds.

"I know. Let it go," Dean tells him.

"Why," Samuel asks.

Dean shakes his head. "Get out of here." Samuel walks around them and out of the room.

"So, what now," Sam asks.

"We can't work for Crowley," Dean replies.

"You sure about that?"

"I don't think you understand. Demons fuck you every time."

"Oh, no, I get it. I do. Believe me. Just running the math. Do we really have another choice?"

h"We can stab him in his throat."

"While that may make us all feel better, it won't help us get Sam's soul back," Addison says. "This - this is the only option we have right now. Until we can find some other way."

"I have done some stupid shit in my time, but punching a demon's clock," Dean replies, shaking his head.

"Look. Just until we can find another way," Sam says.

"And then?"

"I vote for killing Crowley," Addison says. "At this point, he deserves everything we can throw at him."

"You with us, Dean," Sam asks. Dean doesn't say anything and walks out of the room. Addison sighs and Patrick places a comforting hand on her shoulder. She glances at him and for the first time since learning he was alive, she could see her father. She shoots him a small smile, then goes after Dean.


	8. All Dogs Go To Heaven

Chapter 08 - All Dogs Go To Heaven

"I know, Bobby, but there's gotta be another way," Dean says, walking back over towards the table where Sam and Addison were sitting. Addison stares as Sam picks at his food. It was weird. She didn't know if the person in front of her was anything like Sam. "I don't know, keep digging. I mean if Crowley think's we're just gonna—"

"Crowley thinks you're gonna do what, Dean?" Addison tenses hearing the voice. Any day that started off with a visit from the King of Hell was not going to be a good day. Sam and her turn to see Crowley standing next to Dean. "That Bobby Singer? Give him a kiss from me."

"I'll call you back," Dean tells Bobby, then hangs his cell.

"Good news. I've got a job for you," Crowley announces, sitting down next to Sam.

"I'm gonna say this once. You can take your job and shove it up your ass," Dean counters, sitting down next to Addison

"Is that any way to talk to your boss?"

"You're not my boss, dick bag."

Crowley sighs. "Dean, Dean. Been through this. Quit clutching your pearls. You've been working for me for some time. Sam and Ads here, longer."

"We didn't know," Sam argues.

"Like that makes a difference to you. You'd sell your brother for a dollar right now if you really needed a soda. Look, I'm sending you—"

"No," Dean interrupts.

"Beg pardon?"

"I've done some shady shit in my time, but I am not doing this. No."

"Ten quid says you will." Crowley presses a finger to the back of Sam's hand. A bright red burn mark appears and Sam quickly pulls his hand back. "You like pain, Sam? You like Hell? You need to stop thinking of this as some kind of deal. This is a hostage situation, you arrogant little thug. I own your brother. Do you understand me?" Crowley snaps his fingers and Sam's hand goes back to normal. "Come on, Dean, smile. It's not that bad. Here's incentive: you bag me a live alpha and I'll give you little Sammy's soul back with a cherry on top."

"What, alpha vamp not good enough for you," Sam asks.

"Best mind where you poke your nose, if you wanna keep it." Crowley places a newspaper on the table. "Your merry little hike up the food chain starts here. Businessman found dead in his car. Chest ripped open, heart missing. Sounds like..."

"Werewolf," Addison answers.

"No, it's not a full moon," Dean replies.

"Werewolves turning on the full moon. So '09," Crowley says.

A confused look appears on Dean's face. "He's right," Addison replies. "We dealt with one about six months ago on the half moon."

"Things haven't exactly been normal for a while."

Dean leans back in his chair. "So it's settled, then," Crowley says. "You bag the howler, bring it home to papa. See you soon, boys, Ads."

Crowley vanishes and Dean runs a hand over his face. Addison sighs. "This suck ass," she softly says and ignores the incredulous look Dean shoots her.

* * *

"So the vic's a real class act," Sam says, reading over the information they had gathered about the newly assigned case as the Impala speeds down a dark highway. "Owned a bunch of slum grade apartments, couple houses too."

"So this is it? This what you're gonna do," Dean asks.

"What am I doing?"

"Crowley. He's so far up our asses we're coughing sulfur. But you two - you're just gonna work the case?"

Addison leans forward. "Dean, what else are we supposed to do?"

Dean sighs. "It's just, you know, I'm working for a demon now. I don't even know who either of you are anymore. I just - I just need a second to adjust."

"Look, this entire situations sucks, we get that. Okay? But I'm still the same person that you've always known. I'm just slightly more badass. And even through he doesn't have a soul, I'm sure it's the same for Sam."

"Yeah. Same melon, same memories. I still like the same music. I still think about Suzie Heizer," Sam tells Dean.

"Biology class Suzie Heizer," Dean asks, glancing at his younger brother and Addison rolls her eyes.

"Can you blame me? Look, I know you don't trust me and I can't take back what I did. But I'm going to prove it to you. I'm still your brother."

"Ditto," Addison agrees. She squeezes Dean's shoulder. "We are going to prove it to you and then things will go back to normal. Well, normal for us anyway."

* * *

"How you doing," Dean greets as they walk along a pier to where the latest animal attack had taken place next to a river. Addison frowns as she looks around the area, trying to find some kind of clue. "Agents Holt, Wilson, and Neff."

"Feds," the detective asks.

"Yeah," Addison replies as they flash their badges.

"What are the feds doing here?"

"Oh, we're specialists," Sam answers. "They call us in to answer the questions of mouth breathing dick monkeys." Dean, Addison, and the detective look at Sam with surprise. "So are you gonna walk us through this or..."

"Dockworker. Guy on the morning shift found him. Chest ripped wide open."

"Same as the body in the car," Dean asks.

"Yeah, second one in two days."

"Internal organs missing on both vics? Like their hearts," Sam asks.

"Looks like it, yeah. How'd you know?"

"Did the victim have any enemies," Addison questions.

"Yeah, plenty, but I don't think it was a wolf or possibly cougar that had a beef with the guy. You do realize these were animal attacks?"

"An animal out here," Dean argues. "Well, you think it came for the sailing?" Addison forces a smile as the detective looks between the three of them.

* * *

Dean wakes up to a light snoring and the sound of someone typing. He opens his eyes to find Addison stretched out on hers and Sam's bed. His gaze roams over her body and it feels like a cold bucket of water has been dumped over him upon realizing that she was wearing one of Sam's shirts. With a sigh, Dean rolls over and finds Sam already up and dressed. "Morning," Sam greets.

"You didn't sleep...because you don't sleep," Dean tiredly replies.

"Right."

"Yeah. That's not creepy at all."

"Not like I can help it. So you gonna just lay there staring at me or you wanna hear what I dug up?" Dean motions for him to continue. "All right. So we know that werewolves are basically id gone wild, right? I mean, whoever they hate, they kill when they wolf out. So I've been playing connect the victims."

"And?"

"And I think I found a common denominator. So come on. Get the lead out, huh?"

Dean catches the fake FBI badge that Sam tosses him. "Let me get dressed, RoboCop." He climbs out of bed and slaps Addison's ass, but she doesn't move. "She's still like a fucking hibernating bear." He slaps her ass a second time. "Ads, get up!"

Sam smirks when she doesn't move. He walks over and kneels down. He brushes her hair back and leans in. Dean watches as his younger brother whispers something. With a groan, Addison rolls off the bed and shuffles into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

"What are you, the fucking bear whisperer," Dean asks.

"No," Sam replies, moving away. "I just know to get her up."

* * *

The one thing the victims had in common was a man named Cal Garrigan. Sam knocks on the door and a brunette woman holding a young boy answers the door. She looks between the trio with a questioning looking. "Yes, can I help you?"

The trio hold up their badges. "Is Cal Garrigan at home," Sam asks. "We've got a few questions we'd like to ask."

"Yeah. Come in." They enter the modest house. Toys were scattered around the living room and kitchen. A dog was laying in the corner. The woman sets the boy down. "Honey, why don't you go play in your room for a little while, okay?" The boy runs off and the woman picks up the toys off the table. "Excuse the mess. Please, sit. Can I get you guys anything?"

"No, thank you," Dean answers as the trio sits down at the table. "Uh, so Cal is your boyfriend?"

"That's right."

"And where is he?"

"Sleeping, I think."

"Mind telling him 'up and at 'em? He's got some guests."

"Yeah, yeah, of course." A man walks into the room, a hand pressed to his forehead. "Cal."

The dog growls and barks at Cal. "Lucky, shh," Cal says.

"These are Agents..."

"Holt, Wilson, and Neff," Dean answers. "Morning-ish."

"Hey. What's this," Cal asks.

"Late night, Cal," Addison asks.

Cal shrugs as he pours himself a cup of coffee. "Just, you know, a couple beers with friends."

"And how many is a couple?"

"I don't know. Three, four tops."

"If all you had was beer, then how come you're sweating vodka," Sam asks. "And it looks to me like you slept in those clothes, am I right?"

Cal chuckles. "I don't know, I guess."

"So what you're saying is you got blind drunk, you blacked out. Something tell me this isn't the first time," Dean replies.

"So, Cal, truthfully, who knows what you've really been up to at night," Sam continues.

Cal exchanges a look with his girlfriend. "Look, what's this about," he asks.

"Ronald Garrigan," Addison answers.

"My brother?"

The couple exchanges another look. "Sorry for your loss," Dean says.

"Yeah, I thought that was some kind of animal attack."

"No love lost between the two of you, huh," Sam states.

"Look, we had our differences, I guess. You love your brother, of course, but Ron had a lot of problems. He was, uh, volatile."

"Last time he was here, you called the cops?"

"Yeah. Look, he came in here, all messed up and he was yelling. He shoved Mandy, so I called the cops. I don't see how that has to do—"

"Your landlord was found dead this week, were you aware of that," Sam interrupts.

"Saw it in the papers. Why?"

"Well, you two were pretty far behind on your rent, right? He had sent eviction papers?"

"I'm sorry, that was an animal attack," Mandy replies.

"Funny enough, yeah, both of them were."

"So, great, great, yeah, guys. What in the hell do you think I had to with them?"

"We're just following standard procedure," Addison covers, standing up and the guys follow suit. "Thank you for your time. And have a nice day."

They walk out of the house. "So, Cal's a prince," Sam comments.

"Yeah, he doesn't even know where he was last night," Dean agrees.

"Bag him now?"

"No, we make sure."

"Really?"

Addison raises an eyebrow. "Before we hand him over to a lifetime of demon rape," Dean argues. "Yeah, really."

* * *

That night, they follow Cal to a variety of different places, where they watched the man do nothing but hang out and drink. "This guy just doesn't know when to quit," Addison comments, watching Cal drinking a beer.

"Three scuzzy bars, one scuzzy strip club, a chili dog joint, seven or eight nightcaps, and now scotches in the library," Dean tells them. "I'm getting cirrhosis just watching this. Other than that, we got squat."

"Let's just see," Sam replies.

Night turns into dawn and Cal is still partying with his friends with the trio still watching him. "Dude, sun's up," Dean says. A snore comes from the backseat and he looks to see Addison asleep. "This guy's still on two legs, in theory. He ain't wolfing out."

"Well, not tonight, anyway," Sam counters.

"Let's head back. We can re-attack this in a couple hours." Dean starts the Impala and they drive off.

* * *

"I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that it's not Cal," Dean says, as they watch Cal's body be placed in a body bag later that day. They had learned about after getting a call from the local police. His heart had been ripped out during an attack earlier that morning.

"Right you are, Skywalker," Addison responds.

"I mean, a werewolf attack in daylight? This whole thing is just weird."

"Dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria," Sam comments. "So you know this means that we're down to one suspect, right?"

Dean nods. "I know."

"I mean, Mandy is right at the deep end of the vic pool. Can you do it?"

Dean frowns. "Do what?"

"Shove her in the trunk, serve her up to Crowley."

"Yeah, Sam. I can do it."

Sam walks away. "Okay, I think I was wrong," Addison quietly says. "Because the Sam we know and love is not that big of a dick."

* * *

The Impala stops across the street from the Garrigan house. Mandy was standing on the street with the dog, talking to a couple of people. The trio climbs out and walks over to her. "Ma'am," Dean greets.

"Agents," Mandy replies. "What are you doing here?"

Addison frowns. "Nobody called you?"

"Called me about what?"

The trio exchanges a look. "Maybe we should head inside," Addison softly replies.

After telling Mandy about Cal's death, the woman was definitely in shock over the news. "I'm sorry, I just can't believe it," Mandy says.

"I'm really very sorry," Dean replies.

"Ma'am, I know this isn't the best time, but we'd like you to come with us," Sam says.

"Why," Mandy questions. "You think I have something to do with this? With Cal?"

"Of course not. Just got a few questions," Dean replies. "I's and T's, mostly."

"I, uh, could we do it later?"

"I'm afraid not," Sam tells her.

Mandy stares at Sam for a moment. "Oh. My kid has the flu. And he was up all night."

"Is there a neighbor or friend who can watch him while you're gone?"

Dean frowns. "I'm sorry. Your boy was up all night?"

"Yeah," Mandy answers.

"And you were with him all night," Addison asks.

"Um, well, I had half an hour of sleep maybe."

"Can we talk to your son?"

"Why?"

"Yeah, what difference does that make, Agent Neff," Sam asks.

Addison glares. "It's important, Agent Wilson." She turns back to Mandy. "Please?"

* * *

"It wasn't her," Addison declares as they walk back towards the Impala. She pulls her hair into a messy ponytail. Her gut was telling her that the woman was innocent and she always went with what her gut told her.

"You don't know that," Sam argues.

"She's got an alibi," Dean counters.

"She's lying."

"Uh, hello, you heard her son. She's not lying," Addison replies.

"Fine. She still had time to wolf out, Ads. Last werewolf was in bed with me and she wolfed out."

"Don't make this personal," Dean says. "Look, all we're saying, between this and the daylight attacks, something's not adding up. I'm not just gonna hand her over to Crowley until we figure out what, you understand?"

Sam sighs. "Okay, okay. I understand. How about you guys check out Cal's crime scene, see if we're missing anything. I'll come back and keep an eye on Amanda."

"Whoa, whoa. How about you guys go and I'll stay here?"

"Dean, I still know how to do my job. I'm just gonna watch her, that's all. Trust me."

"Bullshit," Addison coughs. Dean looks at her and Addison shrugs before climbing into the backseat.

* * *

Addison walks out of the bathroom, towel drying her hair. She pauses seeing Dean staring at his phone. She tosses her towel back into the bathroom. He tosses his phone onto the table and pours a glass of whiskey, ignoring Addison. "Dean," she starts.

"Don't," Dean replies.

Addison sighs, leaning against the room divider. "I was gonna say if you want to talk or vent or whatever, I'm here."

Dean's phone rings and he grabs it off the table. He and Addison sit down as he puts it on speaker. "Hey."

"Hey, it's me," Sam replies.

"Well, we got bupkis here."

"I definitely got something. It ain't a werewolf for one."

"Yeah? What is it?"

"Skinwalker."

"A skinwalker? As in—"

"As in, the family dog seriously needs a neuter."

"Wow. I haven't heard of a skinwalker in years. I'm a little rusty on the profile."

"You and me both. I just got-"

"Skinwalkers can change anywhere, anytime. And all it takes is a single bite to be infected," Addison interrupts. Dean stares and she shrugs. "My dad and I dealt with one when I was in high school. Anyways, they're a cousin to werewolves which means silver will stop them. They eat their victim's heart. Did you catch him, Sam?"

"Not exactly," Sam replies. "But I have some idea where he might be."

* * *

After retrieving Lucky from the local animal shelter, they take him back to the motel room. They had tied Lucky to a chair with rope and a silver chain. "Well, I gotta tell you, Lucky, you got us stumped," Sam says. "I mean, why shack up with a family? Is it a kinky thing? Do you like to play with your food? Roll over, Lucky. Speak."

"Go to hell," Lucky snaps.

"Already been, didn't agree with me. So look, how about I take this silver knife and I start carving some dog until you behave?"

"You do what you gotta do."

Sam starts towards, silver knife raised. "Hang on, Sam," Dean says. "Listen, you don't have to tell me why you're with the family, I get it."

"Oh, you do, do you?"

"You killed every threat that came near them. You care about them, in your own whack-a-doodle kind of way. It's obvious. What I wanna know is, who was that guy you were kibitzing with? He a skinwalker too?"

"Look, I can't say anything," Lucky answers after a moment.

"But if you don't, then you're gonna put the girl and the little boy in danger. And sooner or later all this shit is gonna come for them," Dean says. "Now, look, we don't give a rat's ass about you. We wanna help them. That's our angle, that's it."

Lucky lets out a breath. "Yeah, that guy, he's a - whatever it is I am. He's not the only one."

"How many are you," Sam questions.

"About thirty. We were all - we were kind of recruited."

"Recruited," Addison asks.

"Yeah. Me, I was living on the streets. They found me, they told one small bite, I'd be strong, I'd be fast."

"Sniffing people's butts, yeah, that's a real step up," Dean comments.

"Well, it was for me."

"Where is this little Scooby gang of yours?"

"They're everywhere. We're out there finding families, and once they take us in, we lay low."

Addison frowns. "What do you mean?"

"Well, we're waiting for the word."

"What word?"

"Once we're settled, we get the signal and we all turn on our families. We change them, all in one night. Thirty becomes 150."

"God, you're sleeper cell," Dean says.

"Yeah, well, that's one way to say it."

"So you're waiting for word from who," Sam asks. "Who organized you?"

"There's a pack leader."

"The alpha," Addison questions.

"What's an alpha?"

"The first skinwalker, the strongest," Sam explains.

"Well, he's plenty strong, but no, I don't think so. I'm pretty sure there's guys like him in other towns. We're not the only pack out there."

"Fantastic. Then you can help us stop him," Dean replies.

"Oh, no, I can't. No."

"Yes, you can."

"No, you guys don't get it. No one can. These guys who turned me, they're ruthless."

Sam whistles, holding up a rubber ball. Lucky looks at him. Sam throws the ball across the room. Addison closes her eyes in disbelief. "Sam, not helping," Dean tells him.

Lucky glares. "Fetch this, dick."

"Listen to me. What are you gonna do to that family, really? You gonna put your jaws around that little boy's throat? Clamp down? Listen to him cry for his mom? Cause I'm gonna guess that these are the only people who, in your pathetic life, have ever showed you any kindness. So it's either that or you can help us stop it."

* * *

Addison pulls her hair back as she leans against the Impala under an underpass. "So how are we supposed to get near something that can smell us a hundred yards off," Sam asks, walking around to where Dean was rummaging through the trunk.

"We don't," Dean replies. He opens a large black case to reveal a long range rifle.

"We're taking down the pack leader," Addison asks.

"Yeah. You got a better idea?"

"No. And I can't believe I'm gonna say this, but Crowley's not going to be happy."

"Who gives a rat's ass? We let that thing live one second and it sends out that psychic dog whistle and..." Dean makes an explosion noise.

"On the other hand, it could lead us to an alpha then Crowley would give me my soul back," Sam argues.

"Are you kidding? A hundred and fifty people turned into monsters. That's what you guys want?"

"No," Addison quickly replies.

Dean looks at Sam. "No, of course not," Sam tells him. "I - I'm just asking."

Dean shakes his head. "You know what? That's it."

"What?"

"You say you're just folks, huh? That you like baseball and apple pie or whatever. The truth is, I don't know what you are, because you're not Sam."

"Dean, come on."

"I mean, it's your gigantor body and maybe your brain, but it's not you. So just stop pretending. It'd do us all a favor." Dean snaps the case shut before grabbing it and walks off. Addison sighs and runs after him, leaving Sam to bring up the rear.

The trio makes their way to a nearby rooftop. Lucky was waiting in the parking. Dean had the rifle ready while Sam and Addison were filling cartridges with silver bullets. "He looks nervous, right," Sam asks.

"Wouldn't you be," Dean replies.

"I'd double cross us. I mean, he's gotta realize that's his best bet if he wants to keep breathing."

"No, he'll go through with it."

"You mean because he loves that family?"

"Yeah."

"I'd double cross us."

"Thanks, Dexter. That's reassuring."

"I was just making conversation." Sam turns to Addison. "After we finish this case, we're getting our own room for a night."

"Why," Addison responds, not noticing that Dean was tightly gripping the gun.

"Because I'm gonna fuck you into next week."

Addison blinks and looks up at Sam. "You're seriously saying that when I have a gun in my hand?" Sam shrugs and Addison shakes her head. "No. Go find some bar skank."

Car tires squeal and the trio falls silent. "Here we go," Dean says as a black SUV pulls up to the warehouse. Sam and Addison stand on either side of Dean, each paired with binoculars.

A group of men, some from the SUV and some from inside the warehouse, surround Lucky. "The big guy, the driver. That's the guy Lucky met in the park," Sam tells them.

"And there's el jefe," Dean says, looking through the rifle scope.

"Take him out."

"It's not clean. We got one shot at this, literally." They watch as the pack leader talks with Lucky.

"Fuck," Addison says as Mandy and her son climb out of the SUV. "Dean, take the shot."

"I'm trying. She's in the way."

"Take it anyway," Sam tells him. Dean and Addison glance at Sam. The leader grabs Lucky's shoulder and leads the group into the warehouse. Dean lowers the rifle, frustrated. "So, plan B?"

"We have one," Addison asks.

Plan B was breaking into the warehouse and taking out the skinwalkers. Sam went in through the front door while Dean and Addison hid in the rafters. They each continue firing at the skinwalkers before they scatter. A growl causes them to turn. A wolf runs at them. Dean struggles to get the rifle out of the cage, but Addison shoots the wolf and it changes back into a man. They stare at each other a moment. Addison's first to look away. She could feel his gaze as she looks over the warehouse. Dean turns back and shoots another skinwalker down in the warehouse.

* * *

"I'll never look at a dog the same way," Dean says as a jogger and dog run past them through the park. Addison shakes her head in amusement as they sit down at a picnic table. "Makes you wonder through, huh?"

"Wonder what," Addison asks.

"How many packs are out there. What if they're all just waiting for the signal, you know?"

"So I was thinking, you were right," Sam says.

"About?"

"I'm not your brother. I'm not Sam."

"Okay."

"All that 'blah, blah, blah' about being the old me? Bullshit. Like Lisa and Ben, right? I've been acting like I care about them. But I don't. I couldn't care less."

"Is this supposed to make me feel better?"

"You wanted the real me, this is it. I don't care about them. I don't even really care about either of you, except that I need your help. And you're clearly not gonna stick around for much longer unless I give it to you straight, so...I've done a lot worse than you know. I've killed innocent people in the line of duty but I'm pretty sure it's not something the old me could have done. And maybe I should feel guilty, but I don't."

"Sam, get to the punch line."

"Look, I don't know if how I am is better or worse. It's different. You get the job done and nothing really hurts. It's not the worst thing. But I've been thinking. I was that other Sam for a long time and it was - it was kind of harder. But there are also things about it I remember that...Let's just say, I think I should probably go back to being him."

"That's very interesting. It's a step."

"So?"

"We do what we gotta do and we get my brother back."


	9. Clap Your Hands if You Believe

Chapter 09 — Clap Your Hands If You Believe

"Of course it's not UFOs, it's fairies," Marion tells them. She was one of the many people they had talked to since arriving in the small farm town. UFOs snatching people up had landed right in their laps.

"Fairies," Dean incredulously repeats. Marion nods. "Okay. Uh, well, thank you for your input."

"What? Flying saucers not insane enough for you," Sam replies.

"What newspaper did you say you worked for," Marion replies.

"Look, if you want to add glitter to the glue you're sniffing, that's fine. Don't dump your wackadoo shit all over us, we'd rather not step in it."

Addison shoots Marion an apologetic look, as she pushes Sam away. "Thank you for your time."

"The only thing you're missing is a couple dozen cats."

"Yeah. It's a blood sugar thing," Dean lies, yanking Sam down the street. "Our apologies."

Addison and Dean shoot Sam annoyed looks. "What?"

"'What?' You gotta ask?" Sam stares back and Dean sighs. "Right, yes. You do have to ask."

"Look, I'm sorry, but this is all a big joke, right. We're actually not taking this UFO shit seriously, are we?"

"No, man, ET is made of rubber, everybody knows that. But there are four legitimate vanishings in this town. Something's going on. Sam, by the way, it's not the lady's fault she took the brown acid."

"Yeah? So?"

"Sam, there is this thing called empathy. It helps make people think you're not a giant asshole," Addison says.

"I mean, the old Sam would have gave her some wussified, dew eyed shit," Dean continues.

"Old Sam had a soul," Sam counters. "Was a soul. Whatever."

"Right. Yes. And - but you don't. Or aren't. Whatever."

"Right."

"Right."

"You don't care."

"Well—"

"You have to care."

"About what exactly?"

"About everything, man! About being human, at least."

"Look, Dean, you guys obviously care a lot and that's great. But I can't care about what - what I can't care about, you know? What do you want me to do, fake it?"

Dean snaps his fingers. "Yes. Absolutely. Fake it. Fake it till you make it."

"What happened to you wanting me to be all honest?"

"Hey, you wanna be a real boy, Pinocchio, you gotta act the part."

"I was faking it, Dean. Ever since we got back on the road together. I was picking every word. It's exhausting."

"Okay. All right. But until we get you back on the soul train we'll be your conscience, okay," Dean says, motioning between himself and Addison, who raises an eyebrow.

"So you're saying you guys will be my Jiminy Cricket."

"Shut up. But, yeah, you fucking puppet. That's exactly what I'm saying."

* * *

"Mr. Brennan," Addison asks as the trio enters the clock store. A middle aged man was sitting at a counter, working on a clock. Cuckoo clocks and various other clocks covered the shelving around the store.

Mr. Brennan glances at them. "We're with the Mirror, we'd just like to ask you—" Sam says

"What," Mr. Brennan interrupts. "Is this about Sean? Sean's gone."

"Missing, right, yes. That's what we wanna talk to you about," Dean replies.

"Now your son was the first to disappear," Sam states.

"First to be taken," Mr. Brennan corrects.

The trio exchanges a look. "Taken," Addison repeats.

Mr. Brennan pulls off his glasses and stands up. "Get out. Out."

"Mr. Brennan, who do you believe took your son," Dean asks as they follow the man towards the door.

"You people can't help me. My boy is never coming back."

"You sound awfully sure," Sam points out.

"Excuse me?"

"Like you know something you're not talking about."

"Sam," Addison quietly warns.

"You know what they say, seventy-two hours," Mr. Brennan tells them. "After that, the odds of finding a missing person drop to nothing, right?"

"Well, every case is different," Dean argues.

"It's been weeks."

"Right." Dean reaches into his jacket and pulls out a business card. He places it on the desk. "Listen call us if anything comes to mind. Come on."

"What do you think," Sam asks as they exit the store.

"He's differently hiding something," Addison responds.

"Why don't you guys stay, watch the watchmaker. See what happens when the sun goes down," Dean says. "I'll go check out the crop circles."

"Okey dokey," Sam replies.

"But do not engage with, maim, or in any way kill Brennan," Dean tells Sam. "In fact I don't want you making any judgement calls whatsoever. Ads, you're in charge. Anything happens, call me."

"I charge ten bucks an hour per child, along with food expenses for all babysitting jobs," Addison says and receives two unamused looks in return.

"You know, Jiminy, Ads and I were on our own for a whole year," Sam says. "We did fine without you."

Dean chuckles. "Yeah, I don't wanna know your definition of fine."

* * *

Addison shoots the waitress a thankful smile as a basket of chicken fingers and fries is placed front of her. She and Sam had followed Mr. Brennan to a local bar after spending the day watching his store. "What," Dean's voice says over Sam's phone.

"Only thing this guy's up to is alcoholism," Sam answers.

"Good."

"You know, maybe I should go talk to him again. I mean, you're the ones who said he's hiding something."

"No," Addison says.

Dean shushes them. "What? You see something," Sam asks.

Addison frowns and leans forward. "Dean, everything okay?"

"Hang on a second," Dean tells them. "Holy...UFO. UFO!"

"Oh, dude, stop yelling. You're breaking up. I didn't catch that last part," Sam replies.

"Close encounter! Close encounter!"

Addison stands up and pulls on her jacket. "Close encounter," Sam repeats. "What kind? First? Second?"

"They're after me!"

"Sam, come on," Addison snaps, but Sam doesn't move. "Sam!"

"Third kind already. You better run, man. I think the fourth kind is a butt thing," Sam says.

"Empathy, Sam," Dean shouts. "Empathy!"

Addison rolls her eyes when Sam asks a passing waitress to bring by another beer. "They still after you?"

"Dean, just fight 'em off. We're on our way," Addison tells him and silence is heard. "Dean, you okay? Dean?" Sam hangs up his phone as the waitress bring by his beer. When he checks out the waitress, Addison turns and marches out of the bar.

* * *

Sam's gaze drifts over Addison as they walk back to where the Impala was parked. They had searched the cornfield, but had found no sign of Dean other than his flashlight on the ground. "Okay, so, let's go talk to the UFO fanatics and see if we can figure out a way to get Dean back," Addison says. She moves to open the door of the Impala when Sam grabs her arm. In the blink of an eye, her back is against the Impala and Sam's lips are on hers. She places a hand on his chest, intending to push him away when he sets her on the hood of the Impala. His lips trail down her neck while he expertly undoes the button on her jeans. "Sam," she gasps, when he lightly strokes her. Addison curls a fist in his shirt and takes a shuddering breath. "Stop."

He ignores her as his lips cover hers once more. She jerks back, falling back onto the hood. She wraps a hand around his wrist and Sam looks at her. "Dean's just been abducted—"

"And we can pick up the search in the morning," Sam interrupts. He curls a finger inside her and smirks when she lets out a low moan. His lips brush the sensitive spot under her ear as he picks up his pace.

"Fuck," Addison moans when she climaxes. Sam removes his hand and she takes the opportunity roll off the hood. Sam frowns when Addison moves away from him. "As much as I would like to continue, we can't."

"Why not? You want this, I want this."

"Because Dean just got abducted by fucking aliens, Sam!" Addison takes a deep breath. "I'm gonna stay here and look for clues or whatever. And you're gonna go do research." She grabs the flashlight she had dropped earlier and quickly disappears into the corn field. Sam stands there for a moment, then he shrugs and climbs into the Impala before driving off.

* * *

Addison sighs as she searches the dark corn field. She rubs her face, trying to fight off the exhaustion that was slowly setting in. She knew that she should call Sam to pick her up, but she didn't want to be around him at the moment, much less alone with him in the motel room. A bright light and gun shots causes Addison to take off running. "Dean," she shouts, running into one of the circles. Dean spins around, gun ready, and Addison quickly holds up her hands. "Dean—" She's cut off when he walks over and tightly embraces her. And Addison can't help but relish the hug.

After a moment, she pulls back and Dean looks around. "Where's Sam?"

Addison tenses. "We split up—"

"Ads, you're supposed to keep an eye on him. He doesn't—"

"I'm sorry that I didn't want to be around your soulless asshole of a brother after he shoved his hand down my pants and wouldn't listen when I said to stop."

Dean frowns and blinks. "Wait, Sam did what?"

Addison shakes her head and pushes past him to starts towards the road. "It doesn't matter. Let's just get the hell out of here."

Dean runs a hand over his face and follows her. It takes them about an hour to make it back to the motel room. When they make it back to the room they find Sam and the hippy UFO chick they had met the day before, having sex. "Dean, Addison," Sam greets.

"What the hell," Dean demands.

"Oh, that's Dean," the hippy chick asks. "Sam, they brought your brother back."

Addison glances at Dean and finds that he's slightly dumbfounded. "Okay, well, this isn't awkward at all," she mutters. She elbows Dean and he blinks.

"You should go," Sam tells the hippy chick, after getting a glare from Dean. Addison sits down at the table and Dean stays by the door as Sam and the hippy chick get dressed.

"It's all right, Sam. I so totally understand. You need time as a family," the hippy chick says. She stops at the door and turns back. "But it's just - what were they like?"

Dean glares. "They were grabby, incandescent douchebags. Good night."

"Too soon."

Dean slams the door shut as the hippy chick leaves. He stares at the door. "You're upset," Sam states.

Dean turns around. "I was abducted and you were fucking patchouli."

"I didn't think she smelled that bad."

"I was abducted by aliens!"

"I was looking into it."

"Looking into it. I was gone for like an hour."

"An hour?"

"And most of that was walking back to town with Ads!"

Addison walks over to Dean. "You were gone all night. They must've screwed with your watch."

"What are you talking about? No, I haven't." Dean looks up to find two cell phone screens in front of him, both with the exact time. "Four a.m.?"

"Uh huh."

"UFO time slip," Sam says. "That actually falls in line with a lot of abduction stories."

"'Falls in line,'" Dean murmurs. He starts to sit down on the nearest bed, but stops remembering that had been the one Sam had been using. "Nothing's 'falling in line.'" He sits down on the unmade bed as Sam hands him a glass of whiskey, which he drowns in one gulp.

"Yeah. Now. Come on. Talk to us. What happened?"

Addison and Sam sit on either side of Dean. "Well, uh, there was this, uh - God help me, there was this bright white light."

Sam pats Dean's knee. "It's okay. Safe room."

"And - and suddenly I was, uh, I - I was in a different place and there were these beings and they were too bright to look at. But I could feel them pulling me towards this sort of table."

"Probing table."

"God, don't say that out loud!"

"Right. Uh, so, what did you do?"

"I went crazy. I started hacking and slashing and firing. They actually seemed surprised. I - I don't think anybody's ever done that before. I had a close encounter, guys, and I won."

"You should take a shower."

"I should take a shower." Dean stands up. "I - I'm gonna take a shower now." Addison falls backwards onto the bed as Dean walks into the bathroom. Sam sits down on the bed next to Addison and places a hand on her thigh. She lets out a huff and pushes his hand off.

* * *

"So on top of all the demons and the angels and ghosts and the skinwalkers, it turns out that there's - so if aliens are actually real, what's next, huh? Hobbits? Seriously," Dean says. They were sitting the bar, finishing up breakfast. Dean frowns, noticing Sam wasn't listening. He glances at Addison and sees the tired look on her face. He watches as Sam nods at the passing waitress. "You just gave her the silent 'how you doing?'"

Sam frowns. "What?"

"Our reality is collapsing around us and you're trying to pick up our waitress?"

"Yeah. Okay. Look. That brings up a question. So say you got a soul and you're on a case and your brother gets abducted by aliens."

"Yeah, you do everything you can to get him back."

"Right. You do. But what about when there are no more leads for the night? I mean, are you supposed to just sit there in the dark and suffer even when there's nothing that can be done at the moment?"

A disbelieving look appears on Dean's face. "Yes!"

"What?"

"Yes. You sit in the dark and you feel the loss."

"Absolutely. But couldn't I just do all that and have sex with the hippie chick?"

"No."

"It would be in the dark."

"No, you couldn't because you would be suffering. And you can't just turn that off for the night."

"Thanks, guys," the waitress says, placing the bill down on the table. Dean stares in disbelief when Sam grins at the waitress.

"What if I did that and had sex with Addison instead," Sam asks.

"What," Addison disbelievingly asks. She shakes her head. "No. I'm not having sex with you ever again. That door is closed to you."

Sam smirks. "So, you're not thinking about me bending you over this table and burying my—"

"Sam," Dean angrily snaps. "If you had a soul, your soul wouldn't let you.

"So you're saying having a soul equals suffering," Sam reasons.

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying."

"Like the million times you almost called Lisa. So you're saying suffering is a good thing."

"I'm saying it's the only game in town," Dean counters, standing up.

"Okay. So how do we deal with the little green men?"

"Research," Addison says, sliding out of the booth. "There's about a century's worth of UFO lore for us to catch up on. And we don't have time—"

"What's up with that guy," Dean interrupts.

"Who?"

"Guy by the window, giving me the stink eye."

"You mean the cop," Sam asks.

"No, not the cop. The guy. He's right - well, now he's gone."

"Dean, who's gone," Addison questions.

"Can we please just get out of here?"

"What's wrong with you," Sam asks.

"Before I hit you."

"Okay. Jeez."

* * *

Addison raises an eyebrow as she stares into the empty microwave with Sam. They had spent the afternoon at the library, doing research on aliens and UFOs. She looks at Dean. "What are we supposed to be looking at," Addison questions.

"Don't you see it," Dean replies.

"See what," Sam asks.

"See - see what? See the blood. See all - all the bleh."

"Sorry, man. I'm not seeing it."

"Ditto," Addison agrees.

"You don't see the gunk? It's right here," Dean insists.

Addison places a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Dean, let's go with you see it and we don't. What was it?"

Dean lets out a frustrated sigh and slams the microwave door shut. "It was a - a little naked lady, okay?"

"A...a little naked lady?"

"It - it was a little, glowing, hot naked lady with nipples and - and she hit me."

"I'm not supposed to laugh, right," Sam asks and Dean glares at him.

"Dean, you, um, you haven't drunk a large amount of absinthe by any chance have you," Addison questions and he turns his glare to her. "Okay, sorry. Did this little naked lady have wings?"

Dean frowns. "What the hell made you say that?"

"She did, didn't she?"

"Yeah, how - how did—"

"One of the theories that we came across—"

"It's actually what crazy crystal lady was yammering about," Sam interrupts, sitting down at the table with his laptop. "What if these abductions have nothing to do with UFOs?"

"What," Dean asks, looking between Sam and Addison. They join Sam at the table.

"Okay, say these encounters have been going on for centuries. Not with extraterrestrials, with ultra terrestrials. I mean, people nowadays say space aliens or whatever. But they used to call them-" Sam turns his laptop to face Dean.

"Smurfs?"

"Fairies," Addison corrects. She pats Dean's shoulder. "Congratulations, Dean, you just murdered Tinker Bell."

"Fairies? Come on."

"There's a straight line between ETs and fairies," Sam says. "Glowing lights. Abductions. It's the same UFO shit under a different skin."

"You guys seriously think the secret with UFOs is—"

"Hey, you're the one who pizza rolled Tinker Bell. We're just doing the math."

"This is a good thing," Addison says. "It's a lead."

"A lead where, Ads?"

* * *

"Fairies. Sprites and spriggans, bogarts and brownies, the little people have many names," Marion says, placing a plate of cookies on the table. Dean, Addison, and Sam were squeezed into a small booth in Marion's RV.

"Well, that's, uh, that's her. That's the little..." Dean says, staring at a porcelain figurine. More figurines were displayed around the RV. "Anyway, I, uh, I get that Tinker Bells are fairies. But, uh, but what about the tiny Santa Claus and the troll and—"

"Oh, that's a garden gnome and that's a large goblin and that—"

"But they're all fairies?"

"Yes, fairy comes in many shapes and sizes. Magical, mischievous beings from the realm next door."

"The fairy realm?"

Marion nods. "So it's like another dimension," Sam asks.

"Another reality, yes," Marion replies. "Only people who have been there and returned to our world can see the fairy here."

"Marion, why are the fairies abducting people," Addison questions.

"There is much theory and little fact. We know they only take first born sons. Just like Rumpelstiltskin did. Personally, I think they're taken to Avalon to service Oberon, king of the fairy."

Sam and Addison glance at Dean. "Dean, did you service Oberon, king of the fairies," Sam asks.

Dean glares at Sam. "Marion, um, let's say fairies are real, okay? What can we do about them?"

Marion frowns. "Sorry?"

"I mean, how can we-"

"Interact with them?"

"Yes, yes. Forcefully interact."

"Well, if you want to win a fairy's favor, leave a bowl of fresh cream. They love cream."

"Okay. Uh, and more forcefully?"

"Well, all fairy hate iron. And the dark fairy burn when touched with silver. What else? Oh you could spill sugar or salt in front of them. No matter how powerful, the fairy must stoop to count each grain."

"Well, all righty. That's - wow. A lot to absorb. Uh, thank you."

"Oh, stay. Finish your tea."

The trio each picks up their tea cups and takes a sip. "I gotta say, I love the feel. It's, uh, it's—"

"It's like Sedona, Arizona took a shit in here," Sam murmurs.

"Unique," Addison says, with a smile. "It's a unique collection you have. And very glittery."

Marion laughs. "Do you have bigger cups," Sam asks.

After finishing their tea, the trio leaves Marion's and walk towards the Impala parked down the street. "God. Is it on me," Dean asks, brushing invisible lent off his jacket. "I feel like I've got the crazy on me."

Addison looks him over and smirks. "You have glitter on your ass."

Dean brushes the glitter off. "Makes me wanna believe in UFOs again."

"Doesn't give us a next move, I'll grant you that," Sam says. "We can always put the call to Bobby."

"Hey." Dean motions to across the street where Mr. Brennan is putting crates full of cream into the back of his station wagon. "I'll be damned. Isn't that the watch guy?"

"Yeah," Addison replies.

"They love cream," Sam says. They climb into the Impala and follow Mr. Brennan to his watch shop. He unloads the cream and carries it into his shop.

"All right, you guys stick with half-n-half. I'm gonna go check out his store," Dean says. He starts to climb out of the Impala, but turns to Sam. "And no hippie chicks."

* * *

Sam stares in disbelief at Addison when music starts coming her phone. She scrambles to pull it out as the music continues playing. "Shut up," she snaps, putting the phone on speaker. "Hey. What's up?"

"Fucking full of Keeblers here. Just full of them," Dean tells them.

"What," Sam asks.

"It's like the story with the shoe guy and all the elves. Hey, you think Brennan made a deal with a bunch of fairies?"

"Let us get back to you," Sam tells him. He grabs Addison's phone and hangs up on Dean.

"Sam," Addison says, when he stands up. She tries grabbing his arm, which he easily dodges and walks over to where Mr. Brennan is sitting at on the other side of the bar. She quickly catches up with Sam

"So, Mr. Brennan, hello again," Sam greets and the man looks at them.

"Leave me alone," Mr. Brennan replies.

"Did I ever mention have beautiful your work is?"

Mr. Brennan frowns. "What?"

"The watches. Just stunning but what I can't figure out is how one man can put out that much product. I mean, hell, if I didn't know better I'd say you have a bunch of elves working for you." Mr. Brennan stares at them. Sam grabs his arm and Addison steps forward. "Except I do know better. And you do have a bunch of elves working for you."

"You're insane."

"So tell us, how does a father decide to trade his son for a bunch of watches? I mean, I'm assuming you have a soul, so, what's your excuse?"

"You don't understand. It wasn't like that."

"Mr. Brennan, can you tell us what happened," Addison asks.

Mr. Brennan sighs. "I supported my family for thirty years making those watches. It's the only thing I know how to do. But the Parkinson's - I was losing my hands. I was losing everything. My grandmother, she always used to say that they were real. Told me all these stories when I was a kid about how to summon them, how to get favors from them."

"So you learned how to work a spell," Sam says.

"I mean, honestly, I doubted it would even work. I was just desperate. But she'd left me this book. So I did the ceremony in my back office two months ago. And this man appeared. Said he was a leprechaun."

Sam stares. "A leprechaun."

"I asked him just to cure my hands, but he said he would do even better. He'd make me more successful than I'd ever been. He told me he'd bring a crew of workers that could save my business, save my name."

"And what did he want," Addison questions.

"He just wanted a place for them to rest. To take of the fruit and fat of the land. I - I said yes. I wasn't thinking."

"And the fruit and fat was," Sam questions.

"My first born. And not just mine. There's been others. They're not stopping. They're not going to stop."

"There has to be way a way to reverse the spell," Addison says.

"There is. But the book is - it's in a safe in my shop. They won't let me near it. It's been a nightmare."

"So you can see the fairies," Sam asks.

"Yes."

Sam turns to Addison and she sighs. "Let's go find Dean," she says. "Don't worry, Mr. Brennan, we'll cover you while you do the ritual."

When Sam, Addison, and Mr. Brennan catch up with Dean, it's only to find him being handcuffed and lead to a police car "Dean, hey. Dude, what happened," Sam shouts.

"Sam, Ads. Hey," Dean replies.

"What are we supposed to do?"

"Fight the fairies! You fight those fairies," Dean yells as he's forced into the back of the police car. "Fight the fairies!" Addison pinches her nose and shakes her head in disbelief.

* * *

After retrieving some weapons from the Impala's trunk, Sam and Addison follow Mr. Brennan into his watch store. "Are they here," Sam asks, looking around. A spilt bowl of cream was lying on the floor in front of them.

"Yeah," Mr. Brennan replies. "But it's all right. Cream hits them like tequila." Addison raises an eyebrow and moves further into the store with Sam bringing up the rear. They stand guard as Mr. Brennan opens his safe and takes out a book. He starts chanting, then suddenly he gasps. He wooden stake had been shoved into his chest.

"You," Addison disbelievingly states. "You're the leprechaun?"

"Indeed I am," Wayne, one of the UFO nuts they had talked to a couple of days ago, replies. "Sorry about the mess, but your friend here went back on his deal."

"Well, you weren't very clear with him on the terms," Sam replies.

"I told him there was a price. Once we come, we come to stay."

"You take first borns and then what," Addison asks. "You just sit back and watch while they cover up the abductions for you with UFO stories? Which you then help encourage. But your cover's blown, Wayne."

"Blown? To whom? Brennan's dead. Dean? He's marked. Been to the ranch. He's ours now."

"Yeah. Well, then there's us," Sam tells him.

"You? But you can only see me if I let you." Wayne disappears and they look around.

"True. But you'll have to get near us eventually and I have very good reflexes."

"You're not like the rest of them, are you?"

They spin around to find Wayne. "Nope."

"No, I could see that right off. You're missing a certain piece right in the center, ain't cha?"

"Says who?"

"We fairy folk are all about energy and the human soul gives off a certain...perfume. Your soul is far away but not completely out of reach."

"That so?"

"Sam. I can get it back for you, for a price."

"That's adorable. It's locked in a box with the devil."

"Your devil. Not mine."

"There's no fucking way a leprechaun can do what angels cannot."

"Angels. Oh, please." Wayne vanishes and appears on the other side of the room. "I'm talking about real magic, sonny. From my side of the fence. Got a way of getting in back door."

"So you're my blue fairy? You can make me a real boy again?"

"When you wish upon a star."

Sam looks at Addison and she stares back. He turns to Wayne. "I got a wish." He fires his shotgun and hits Wayne in the chest.

"Iron. Painful...but not a deal breaker."

Sam fires once more and Wayne vanishes. Addison digs through her jacket pockets. Wayne slams his cane into her back and she falls to the ground. Sam readies his shotgun, but Wayne hits him in the side with the cane. Addison pushes herself up and takes out a shotgun shell. "Hey," she shouts. Wayne turns to her and she pulls open the shotgun shell, pouring the salt out. Wayne glares at her as he sits down and starts counting each grain of salt.

"Why didn't I think of that," Sam asks aloud.

Addison shrugs and walks over to the Mr. Brennan's desk. She reads the spell out of the book and Wayne, along with the other fairies, vanishes in a small flash of light.

* * *

"So, here's to the tiniest DA. Thanks for dropping the charges," Dean says, holding up his beer bottle. He and Sam were sitting on the hood of the Impala. Addison laughs and clinks her bottle against his before they each take a swig.

"Little big man," Sam says.

"I was wondering something."

Sam glances at him. "Yeah?"

"You think Lucky Charms really could have returned soul to sender?"

"Come on. That's crazy to think. He did talk a good game though."

"You said no. Why?"

"It was a deal. When's a deal ever been a good thing?"

"I'm just trying to figure out how it works in there."

"Dude, I do still have all my brain cells. If anything, my brain works better now."

"I'm just making sure that's where your head's at. You know, that you're not having second thoughts about getting your soul back."

"Oh."

"You're not, are you?"

"No." Silence settles over the trio as they each become lost in their own thoughts.


	10. Caged Heat

Chapter 10 — Caged Heat

"You're late," a demon says as the trio climbs out of the Impala. Addison glares as she pulls the handcuffed rougarou out of the backseat. She wasn't a big fan of the arrangement that they had made with Crowley, but she didn't say anything about since Sam's soul was on the line.

"Traffic was a bitch," Dean snaps, grabbing the rougarou from Addison. He leads it forward and another demon grabs the rougarou.

"One rougarou," Sam tells them.

"Where's Crowley?"

"Fucking a hooker in a sweet spot called none of you business," one of the demon answers.

"Oh! Look at that, guys, demon trying to be funny."

"Oh. Is that what just happened," Sam replies.

"Night, girls," the demon replies.

"Wait, wait, hold up, hold up. Are we ever gonna see Crowley again or is he just gonna keep sending his demon extras to pick up his laundry," Dean asks.

"I'm sorry, I know you're speaking. I see your lips moving, but I can't understand what you're saying cause I don't speak little bitch." The demon turns and climbs into a black SUV.

"Remember when we used to gank demons," Dean says as the SUV drives away.

Addison sighs. "We all miss those days, Dean."

* * *

"No, fuck it. I'm done," Dean announces as they enter the abandoned house they were staying in. He goes right over to where the cooler was sitting and pulls out an empty glass. Addison sighs as she pulls off her jacket.

"Dean, calm down," Addison says.

"We've been going on these fucking Crowley runs and it's not getting us anywhere, Ads."

"Dean—"

"I mean, the only thing that's really changed is now I need a daily rape shower."

"No, you're right. Let's go with plan B. Oh, wait, we don't have one. So until we can find one, just lay back and think of Sam's soul."

Dean shakes his head in disbelief. "Dean, if you wanna get my soul back, that's what we gotta do, okay," Sam tells him.

Dean looks at Sam. "You even want it back?"

"I'm working for Crowley, aren't I?"

Dean walks over to the mantel and pours a glass of whiskey. "Yeah, well, who says he's gonna hold up his end, you know? It is Crowley. You ever think of that? Right?" He turns around only to find that Sam and Addison are gone. "So I guess the moment's over. Is that what you're saying? Sam? Ads?"

He sets his glass down and pulls out his gun. He moves past the front door and into the next room where Sam and Addison were lying on the floor, unconscious. A man comes up behind Dean and hits him on the back of the head.

* * *

Addison groans and opens her eyes. Pain erupted from the back of her head and she winces. She was tied to chair, as were Dean and Sam. "Lovely," she mutters, seeing the demon standing across from her.

"What now," Dean asks as Sam wakes up.

"I think I know who can you can ask," Sam replies as footsteps near. Addison turns and sees Meg walk into the room.

Dean glances over his shoulder. "Evil bitch."

Meg places hand on Dean's shoulder. "Keep sweet talking me. This could go a whole new direction."

"Meg. I've been dying to see you again."

"Well, here I am, big boy. So, what should we do now?"

"How about I rip you to shreds?"

"Kinky, I like. But a little Q&A first, if you don't mind. Now, where's your boss?"

Sam scoffs. "You think we work for somebody?"

"I happen to know for a fact you've been juggling Crowley's orphans. Now, where is he?"

"Don't know, don't care."

"But you've been working his beat for months."

"Doesn't mean we get face time."

Meg exchanges a look with the other demon. She climbs onto Addison's lap. "Where does he take all those things you snatch up for him? I bet you an all day sucker that's where His Majesty's holed up." Addison stares back at the demon. "Okay, officially over the foreplay." Meg places a knife against Addison's neck and and turns to Dean. "Satisfy me or I please myself."

Sam laughs. "Something funny, Sam," Dean snaps.

"Yeah. Meg," Sam responds.

Addison glares. "You know from where I'm sitting—"

"Don't worry, she can't do jack squat. She's totally fucked."

"Sam, you're not helping."

"Look at her. She's furious. If she could kill you, she'd have done it by now. She's running."

Meg lowers the knife and turns to Sam. "Am I?"

"Judging by the level of flop sweat on all of you, yeah. Which means you're running from Crowley, which makes sense." Meg climbs off of Addison, who lets out a relived breath. "Crowley would wanna hunt down all the Lucifer loyalists now that he's big man on campus."

"How would you know?"

Sam shrugs. "It's what I'd do. She can't kill us. She needs us to get her to Crowley so she can stick that knife in his neck. It's him or her."

"Well, I hope you both lose," Dean comments. "But good luck."

"So you know what you gotta do now, right?"

"Let me guess, you're gonna tell me," Meg says

"Work with us."

"Whoa, what," Dean incredulously asks.

"We'll hand you Crowley with a bow on one condition. We go with you and you help us wring a little something out of him before you hack him to bits."

Meg stares, curious. "What?"

"Doesn't matter. Question is, can you get us what we need?"

"I apprenticed under Alastair in Hell just like your brother. So, Dean, can I make Crowley do whatever I want?"

Dean glares at the demon. "Yeah, she can."

"It's a deal then. Hugs and puppies all around."

"You gonna untie us?"

"Please, don't pretend you don't enjoy it."

Meg and the demons walk out of the house. One of the demons pauses by Dean. "You gonna kiss me," Dean snaps. The demon walks past him.

Once they're free from the ropes, they walk out of the room. "What are you doing," Dean demands.

"What do you mean," Sam replies.

"I mean, what are you doing?"

"Dean, you wanted to screw over Crowley. Merry Christmas." Dean stares in disbelief. "What?"

"You wanna work with a demon again?"

"We're working with demons now. I'm doing this because I wanna stop."

"She killed Ellen and Jo."

"I know, but you can't look at this emotionally, Dean. We need her."

"The fuck we do. That little bitch is gonna screw us over so fast—"

"Of course, which is why we'll screw her first. Meg and her little posse are dead the second we're done with them."

"If they don't kill us first," Addison argues.

"Oh, they won't. Because we're bringing insurance," Sam tells them.

Addison frowns. "Insurance?"

"Cas."

"You really think he's gonna come down here and help when he's got the civil war currently waging upstairs," Addison argues.

Sam turns to Dean. "I'm with Ads on this one," Dean says. Sam walks out of the house.

Addison shakes her head and grabs a duffle bag before sitting at a table. Dean joins her and a comfortable silence settles over them. The door opening causes them to turn and watch as Sam enters with Castiel. "You actually showed," Dean says. "Wow, Sam, I guess we owe you a chicken dinner. What happened?"

"No big. This is what friends do for each other," Sam replies.

The trio hangs back as Castiel sets up a spell. "It's not working," Castiel states after finishing the spell. "Crowley's hidden from me."

"Well, looks like we're gonna have to try this the hard way," Dean says.

* * *

The hard way involved breaking into Samuel's office on the Campbell compound. A light turns on and the group turns to see Samuel enter with a pistol. "Can I help you," he asks, putting up his pistol. "What do you want?"

"We wanna know where Crowley is," Dean answers.

"If I even knew, why would I tell you?"

"Because you're our grandfather."

"Samuel, I'm gonna get my soul back," Sam says.

"Who says you can get it back?"

"Me."

"I'd like to help, but I'm sorry."

"It's your grandson's soul," Addison argues.

"I can't."

"What is wrong with you," Dean asks. "You wanna work with Crowley?" He glances at the angel. "Cas, can you give us a minute?" Dean moves toward Samuel. "We're your blood. But if you don't wanna help us, I can't make you. But I just gotta know why. What is Crowley holding over you? You owe us that." Samuel turns and takes a picture out of a desk drawer. He hands it over to Dean. "Mom?"

Samuel sighs. "He's gonna give her back to me."

"Crowley's gonna bring Mom back from the dead?"

"You tell me you don't want her back." Samuel sits down behind his desk. "You know the one difference between us. You know how to live without her."

"Look, I know how you feel."

"No, you don't. She's my daughter and she's dead. And I can do something about it."

"You really think Crowley's gonna make good here?"

"He brought Sam back and me."

"Trust me. Don't go down that road."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying stop trying. It's gonna go nowhere good. Samuel, I know we've had our differences, but I'm your grandson. And I'm telling you that this is wrong for so many reasons."

"You hypocrite."

"I'm asking you to learn from our mistakes. Doing this, this is how the bad guy gets us every time. It's our Achilles heel. Apparently, it runs in the family. We will figure something else out, okay?"

"I'm sorry, Dean, but—"

"Fine. Fine, you bring her back. But what are you gonna tell her, huh? You gonna tell her you made a deal with a demon? That you wouldn't help out her sons?"

"All right, that's enough. Just get out." Dean stares at Samuel, then walks out of the room. Addison quickly follows him with Sam bringing up the rear.

* * *

Addison sighs and leans back in the chair. She, Dean, and Sam had been researching for a couple of hours. Castiel was sitting on the couch, watching TV. As she stretches, she can feel Sam watching her. She rolls her eyes. "You're such a perv, Sam."

"You're the one that's putting them on display, Ads," Sam leers.

"It's very complex," Castiel comments.

"What," Addison asks.

"If the pizza man truly loves this babysitter, why does he keep slapping her rear? Perhaps she's done something wrong."

Dean looks up. Addison was trying to hide her laughter. He looks over at the angel. "You watching porn," he asks. "Why?"

"It was there."

"You don't watch porn in a room full of people. And you don't talk about it. Just turn it off." Castiel looks down at his lap. Dean throws up his hand. "Now he's got a boner."

A knock comes from the door. "It's probably the pizza man for Cas," Addison teases, standing up. She walks over to the door, inwardly smirking when she feels Castiel intently watching. She opens the door and rolls her eyes seeing Samuel.

Samuel walks in. He eyes the TV and Castiel. "This what you three do, sit around watching pornos with angels?"

"We're not supposed to talk about it," Castiel states causing Addison to laugh.

"Why are you here, Samuel," Dean asks, ignoring Addison and turning off the TV.

"It's what Mary would want," Samuel answers. He drops a map on the table. "Now, this is what I know. Whatever we bag ends up there. That's where he tortures 'em, interrogates 'em, I don't really know. Only been outside the place, but it's a death trap. Nothing gets in that Crowley doesn't want in and nothing gets out, period."

"Well, thanks."

"I wish you wouldn't do this."

"Come with us," Sam says.

Samuel shakes his head. "I may be soft, but I'm not suicidal," he tells them, then walks out of the house.

Sam makes a call to Meg and the group walks outside to find the demon waiting with more demons. "Remember me," Meg says to Castiel. "I sure remember you, Clarence."

"Why are we working with these abominations," Castiel asks.

"Keep talking dirty. It makes my meat suit all dewy."

"Okay," Addison says. "We know where Crowley is."

"Great, do tell."

"Yeah, tell you so you can just leave us for dead," Sam counters.

"You three have serious abandonment issues, you know that?"

Sam moves forward. "We'll show you, all right? But we're all going together."

"What? I'm just supposed to trust you?"

"No, you're not that stupid. Give me the knife."

"No, I'm not that stupid."

"Do you want us to take you to Crowley or not?" Meg reluctantly hands over her knife. Sam turns and stabs the demon standing to Meg's right. He holds out his hand. "You saw him. He was more interested in killing us than getting the job done. I just did all of us a favor."

Sam turns and start to walk away. "Hey. You just gonna keep that," Meg calls.

Sam glares at Meg. "You took this from us. I'm taking it back. We leave in one hour."

Dean, Addison, and Castiel watch as Meg and the demons leave. "Well, this gonna be fun," Addison mutters.

* * *

Crowley's hideout turned out to be an abandoned mental hospital. There were lights on in a few of the rooms, but they couldn't tell anything else about the place. "Seems pretty quiet," Dean states, as the trio and the demons stand on a hill over looking the hospital.

"It's not. I can feel it. Meet me at the side door," Castiel replies, then vanishes.

They have no problems making their way to the side door and meet up with Castiel. "This all seem a little to easy to you," Dean asks.

"Way too easy," Addison answers, then enters the building.

The hallway was dark and leaves were scattered on the floor. Some of the rooms held corpses while others had still alive monsters. They move further into the building. "Wait," Castiel says.

"What is it," Dean asks.

Growling comes from down the hallway. "Damnit. Here come the guards," Meg says.

"Hellhounds. Go." The group takes off running with the hellhounds close behind. The hellhounds manage to take out the two demons that Meg had brought. They pass a set of doors and the boys slam them shut. Addison pours salt at the bottom of doors while Dean jams a stake to hold them shut. "I knew this was a trap."

"What do you want, a cupcake?"

"That should keep 'em out," Addison says.

"Not for long. How many are there?"

"Lots," Meg answers. "I'll be pulling for you from Cleveland."

"What?"

"I didn't know this was gonna happen. Bright side? Them chewing up my meat suit ought to buy you a few seconds. Seacrest out." Meg opens her mouth to smoke out, but nothing happens.

"It's a spell, I think, from Crowley. Within these walls, you're locked inside your body," Castiel explains.

"Karma's a bitch, bitch," Dean says. Sam pulls out the demon killing knife. "What are you gonna do? You gonna slash at thin air until you hit something?"

Sam holds the knife out to Meg. "You can see 'em. Take this, hold 'em off. It's out best shot."

"At Crowley. Take it and go," Meg replies. "You kill the smarmy dick. I'll hold off the dogs."

"Well, how are you gonna do that..." Dean trails off when Meg kisses Castiel. The trio awkwardly stand there as Castiel presses Meg against the wall and they continue to kiss.

Castiel steps back. "What was that for," Meg asks.

"I learned that from the pizza man," Castiel says.

"Well, A plus for you. I feel so clean." Meg holds up Castiel's sword. "Okay. Gotta go."

"Those work on hellhounds," Addison asks.

"Well, we're about to find out. Run."

Not needing to be told twice the trio and Castiel run down the hallway. They enter a dark stairwell. "I can't see jack," Dean complains. A bright light flashes and Castiel vanishes. "Cas?!"

Addison tenses seeing Samuel standing by the banishing sigil. "Dean."

"You sold us out," Dean angrily accuses. Hands grab them from behind and they each struggle to get out of the demons' grips. "Damn you, Samuel."

"Yes," Crowley says, entering the room. "And I have to say, best purchase I've made since Dick Cheney."

Dean glares. "Hiya, Crowley, how's tricks?"

"Above your pay grade. Been working. Big things. Alas, you'll be too dead to participate."

"Really?"

"Shame I have to do away with you three. Rather enjoyed your indentured servitude."

The demons lead them down in a hallway and shove them into three separate rooms. Addison stumbles as she's shoved into the room. "Sam? Ads," Dean shouts.

"Yeah," Sam faintly replies.

"I'm standing in pee!"

"Consider yourself lucky!"

"I think I'm gonna puke," Addison shouts back, slowly standing up. The room was dark. She wipes her hands on her jeans. She could hear Dean talking to Samuel. The door opens and she turns to see two demons. They grab her and drag her out. Addison struggles to get away, but they tighten their grip on her and force her into another room. Dean manages to catch her before she can hit the floor. This room was bigger. A tub was filled with gunk and what looked to be intestines.

"You okay," Dean asks. Addison nods. He grabs her hand and pulls her close as they search around the room. Dean pushes back a bloodied plastic curtain to find a half eaten man lying on the floor. The door burst open and they turn to see the demons shove two more people in.

"Enjoy," one of the demons says as it closes the doors.

"All right, all right, Shawshank's a great flick but let's skip the shower scene, huh," Dean asks.

"Look. Breakfast," one of the men says. The monsters rush at them. Addison groans when she's tackled to the floor. Dean runs over and delivers a kick to the ghouls stomach. The other ghoul wraps an arm around Dean's neck.

"Fucking hate ghouls," Dean forces out. The first ghoul runs at Addison and she delivers a round house kick to his head. She runs up behind the ghoul and snakes her arm around his neck forcing him to release Dean. The ghoul backs up and Addison grunts when she hits the wall. Dean punches the ghoul a couple times before the other one shoves him to the floor. Addison lets go of her grip on the ghoul and manages to block the punch that's aimed for her. The ghoul wraps a hand around her throat just as the doors burst open. She falls to the ground as the ghoul goes to deal with the newcomer.

Addison stands up just in time to see Sam slams a pipe through the ghoul's head. The trio runs out of the room. Screams get their attention and Dean and Addison enter a room to see Meg tied to table. Christian was standing in front of her and Meg starts laughing. "What are you laughing at," Christian asks.

Dean grabs the knife out his hand and stabs the demon in the back. "Dean Winchester's behind you, meat sack," Meg answers. An orange light flashes and Christian falls to the ground.

Sam runs into the room. "We should go." Dean and Addison release the straps around Meg's wrists. After Meg gets dressed, the trio gets to work setting up a trap. Dean pulls the fire alarm. And it doesn't take long for Crowley to come investigate.

"You should be ghoul scat by now," Crowley says. Sam runs up behind the demon and slams a wrench across the back of his head. Crowley falls to the ground and the trio stand in front of him. Dean pulls out the knife as Crowley stands up. "Really necessary? I just had this dry cleaned." Crowley looks up and finds a devil's trap painted on the ceiling. "So to what do I owe the reach around?"

Meg enters the room. "Crowley," she greets.

"Whore."

"Okay. You know what?" Meg raises her hand and makes a fist. Crowley doubles over, coughing up blood. "The best torturers never get their hands dirty. Sam wants a word with you."

"What can I do for you, Sam?"

"You know damn well. I want my soul back," Sam answers.

"And here I thought you just grew some balls, Sam," Meg comments.

"Well?"

"No," Crowley replies.

"Meg," Dean says.

Meg steps forward and makes a fist once more. "I can't," Crowley tells them.

"Can't or won't," Sam asks.

"I said can't and I meant can't, you mop headed lumberjack. I was lucky to get this much of you out. Going back in there for the sloppy bits? No way. I'm good, but those two in there? Forget it."

"How do I know you're not lying?"

"You don't. But it doesn't change anything. I'm telling you. Sam, why do you want the thing back? Satan's got one juicy source of entertainment in there. I'd swallow a rag off a bathhouse floor before I took that soul. Unless you want to be a drooling mess."

Addison glances at Dean and finds that he's unsurprised at the revelation about the condition of Sam's soul. "Sam, I hate to say it, but he's right," Meg tells him.

"Yeah, right, I get it, thanks," Sam replies. "He's all yours."

"What? Are you crazy? He's our only hope," Dean argues.

"You heard him," Sam interrupts. "He can't get it. He's useless."

Dean takes out the demon killing knife and holds it out to Meg. She takes it with a grin and moves closer to Crowley. She stops right outside the devil's trap. "You'll let me back out, right," Meg asks. Sam nods and Meg steps inside. "This is for Lucifer, you pompous little—" Crowley grabs Meg's wrist and sweeps her feet out from under her. He grabs the knife and tosses it into the ceiling, destroying the devil's trap.

Crowley steps out of the trap. "That's better." He waves his hands and the trio goes flying into the walls. The knife flies down from the ceiling and into his hand. Meg stands up. "You don't know torture, you little insect."

There's a flutter of wings and Castiel appears. A burlap bag was in his hand. "Leave them alone," the angel orders.

"Castiel. Haven't seen you all season. You the cavalry now?"

"Put the knife down," Castiel orders.

"You that bossy in Heaven? Hear you're losing out to Raphael. The whole affair makes Vietnam look like a roller derby. Hey, what's in the gift bag?"

Castiel reaches into the bag and pulls out a skull. "You are."

"Not possible."

"You didn't hide your bones as well as you should have."

Crowley lowers the knife and claps. "Cookie for you."

Castiel drops the bag to the floor. "Can you restore Sam's soul or not?"

Crowley snaps his fingers and the trio slide down from the walls. "If I can help out in any other—"

"Answer him," Dean snaps.

"I can't."

Castiel holds a hand over the bag and it goes up in flames, along with Crowley. The trio steps forward towards the pile of ashes. Sam grabs the demon killing knife as Meg disappears. "Well, she's smart. I'll give her that," Dean says. "I was gonna kill her too. Of course, I'd have given you an hour with her first."

"Why would I want that," Castiel replies.

Addison shakes her head. "I say we just get out of here."

The trio and Castiel make their way to where Dean had parked the Impala. "Thanks, Cas. If it hadn't have been for you..." Dean trails off.

"Crowley was right. It's not going well for me upstairs," Castiel tells them.

"If there's anything we can do—"

"There isn't. I wish circumstances were different. Much of the time, I'd rather be here."

"Cas, we know you got a steaming pile on your plate. There's no need for apologies. We're your friends."

"Listen, Sam. We'll find another way."

"You really wanna help," Sam replies. "Prison full of monsters. Can't just leave 'em, can't let 'em go."

"I understand," Castiel responds then disappears with flutter of wings.

"Cas' right, you know," Addison says.

"About," Sam asks as Dean looks at her.

"About your soul. We'll figure something out. I can call my dad-"

"No, we won't."

"Because Crowley said—"

"You both heard what Crowley said. And I heard what Cas said."

Addison frowns. "What'd Cas say?"

"Putting this thing back in would smash me to bits."

"We don't know that for sure," Dean argues.

"You know what? When angels and demons agree on something call me nuts, I pay attention."

"You say this now? After we practically died trying to—"

"Exactly. We almost got ourselves killed. I mean, how many times do we risk our asses for this? Enough's enough. I don't think I want it back."

"You don't even know what you're saying."

"No, I'm saying something you don't like. You obviously care a lot. But I think maybe I'm better off without it."

Dean shakes his head. "You're wrong. You don't know how wrong you are."

"I'm not sure about that," Sam tells them, then starts walking away.

"Sam, don't walk away. Sam. Sam!"


	11. Appointment in Samarra

Chapter 11 — Appointment in Samarra

Addison steps out of the Impala. She glances over at Dean to see the disbelieving look on his face. They were standing in front of a Chinese grocery store in downtown Omaha. "Its the address he gave me," Addison defends. Dean shakes his head and follows Addison into the store. She smiles at the man behind the counter. "Hi, we're looking—"

"Follow all the way back," the man interrupts. Addison shrugs and walks away. Dean looks at him. "All the way back."

Dean catches up to Addison as she walks up some stairs. The door opens to reveal an older man. He had greying hair and a beard with a slightly dirty lab coat over his clothes. "Addison Sloan? Dean Winchester," he asks.

"You must be Dr. Robert," Dean replies, shaking his hand.

Dr. Roberts nods. "Son, I stitched up your daddies more time than I can count, let me tell you," he explains, leading them into his office. Addison frowns as she looks around. "Oh, it's good to see you. Course that was awhile ago, back when, uh, I still had my medical license. Right this way."

"So, um, Dr. Robert, we're not exactly super concerned about germs but—" Addison begins.

"Rent's cheap," Dr. Robert interrupts. A girl readying a syringe was standing next to an exam table. "Eva, my assistant." Dean nods at the girl while Addison smiles. "Hop right up."

"N-now, you - you have, uh, done this a lot," Dean asks, climbing onto the exam table.

"Oh, many, many times."

"What's your success rate," Addison questions.

"Oh, excellent - almost seventy-five percent," Dr. Robert tells her. Addison shoots Dean an alarmed look. "So, should we get the, uh, preliminaries out of the way?"

"Yeah. Uh, yeah, right," Dean replies, handing Dr. Robert a envelope of cash. Dr. Robert readies a needle. Dean takes out another envelope and hands it to Addison. "Uh...So, Ads...listen, if, uh, something—"

"Nothing is going wrong," Addison quickly interrupts.

Dean notices Dr. Robert glance at her. "Yeah, well, if does...would you mail this for, please?"

Addison stares at him for a moment, then rolls her eyes and grabs the envelope. "Fine. But if you do die, then know that I'll bring you back and kill you myself."

"Would've thought you had something for your brother, Sam," Dr. Robert comments.

"If I don't make it back, nothing I say is gonna mean a damn thing to him," Dean tells him. Eva inserts an IV into Dean's arm and he jumps. "Ah!"

"Don't be a baby," Eva retorts. Addison smiles in amusement.

"A little bedside manner would be nice," Dean mutters.

Dr. Robert turns back to them. "Are we ready?" Dean nods and Addison sighs. She grabs his hand. "You've got three minutes." Dr. Robert injects Dean with the medicine. Eva places her fingers on his wrist as the heart monitor speeds up. After a few seconds his head falls backwards.

"No pulse, no sinus rhythm," Eva announces.

"He's dead." Addison stands next to the table. Her hand never leaves his. "I guess that birth control Patrick made me prescribe came in handy, huh."

Addison shifts. "Yes, it did," she quietly says. She sees the look pass between Dr. Robert and Eva. Addison turns to Dean and squeezes his hand. A silence settles over the group as Eva keeps track of the time.

Three minutes quickly passes. "Four, three, two, now," Eva says. Addison moves back as Dr. Robert tries to shock Dean's heart back into rhythm. Nothing happens. "Again."

"Come on, Dean," Addison mutters. Dr. Robert shocks him again. Still nothing. Dr. Robert shocks him for a third time and nothing happens.

"Eva, adrenaline," Dr. Robert orders. Eva hands him a syringe and Dr. Robert injects into the IV. Dean gasps, shooting up and Addison lets out relived breath. "Oh thank Moses."

"You couldn't have given me five more seconds," Dean asks, laying back.

"Dean, you were dead for seven minutes," Addison argues.

Dean sits up. "I was?"

"Yeah. I thought Death was gonna make you his new sidekick." Dean sighs and falls back onto the table.

* * *

"You what," Sam disbelievingly asks. Addison rubs her head as she sits next to Bobby on the old couch in his den. Patrick was sitting in an old arm chair by the fireplace. Dean was standing across from Sam, hoping that his younger brother would go along with his plan.

"Hear me out," Dean replies.

"I heard Cas and Crowley when they said it would either kill me or turn me to Jell-O, Dean. I heard enough."

"Death said he can put up a wall."

"A wall?"

"Yes, a wall. That - that basically you wouldn't remember Hell."

"Really?"

"Really."

"For good? Like a cure?"

Dean glances at Addison. "No, it's not a cure. It - He said it could last a lifetime."

"Great. So, playing pretty fast and loose with my life here, don't you think, Dean?"

"I'm trying to save your life."

"Exactly, Dean. It's my life. It's my life, it's my soul, and it sure as hell ain't your head that's gonna explode when this whole scheme of yours goes sideways."

"Just curious. I presume Death's not doing this out of the goodness of his heart. So, what's your half of the deal," Bobby asks, standing up. Dean remains quiet. "I'm sorry, I didn't get that."

"I have to wear the ring for a day," Dean confesses.

"Why the hell would he want you to do that?"

"Get his rocks off? I don't know. But I'm doing that." Sam shakes his head and starts out of the room. "Where you going?"

"Look, I hear you, all right? I get it," Sam tells him. "Just need a minute to wrap my head around it, all right?"

Dean moves forward and watches as Sam walks out of the house. He grabs his jacket and follows his brother. Addison exchanges a look with Bobby and Patrick before they go after the boys. They find Sam looking around where Dean had buried and then unburied the four horseman's rings. Dean holds up a silver ring with a white stone embedded in it. "Looking for this," Dean asks.

Sam shrugs. "Just taking a walk."

"Sam. I'm your brother. I'm not gonna let you get hurt. I know what I'm doing here."

"What if you're wrong?"

"I won't let it go wrong."

"Fine."

"Fine? So you're—"

"So I'm trusting you here. Barely."

"You sure?"

"You're the one with the compass, right? Just don't mess it up."

"I won't." Dean turns and walks past Bobby, Addison, and Patrick. "Watch him," he mutters.

The four of them make their way back to Bobby's house. "So is this the part where you pull a gun on me and lock me in the panic room," Sam asks.

"Do I have to," Bobby counters.

"No. I guess Dean's gotta do what he's gotta do."

Addison sighs. "So, pizza anyone?"

Patrick places a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "That and a bottle of wine."

* * *

The door slamming shut causes Addison to look up from her laptop and see Sam walking into the den. "Where the hell have you been," she asks, tensing. Sam had been gone for a few hours and the entire time he was gone, he didn't pick up his phone. Patrick sets his book down.

Sam shrugs. "Just driving around. No biggie."

Bobby enter the den and glances at Addison, who shrugs in response. He picks up a bottle of whiskey off his desk. "Drink," he asks.

"Yeah. Sure."

Addison closes her laptop and puts it to the side. "I'll take one," she says, joining them at the table. Bobby pours four glasses of whiskey. "You know what? I think this is the perfect time for me to work on my poker skills. How about a couple games?"

"Sure," Sam replies, sitting down.

"You always were bad at poker," Patrick comments, shooting Addison an amused smile.

The only silence between the four of them is Bobby shuffling and dealing out the cards. Sam's the first to place a bet with Bobby and Addison calling and Patrick folding.

"Pair of aces," Sam says, flipping over his cards a couple of hours later.

Addison sighs as she tosses her cards into the center of the table. Bobby picks up the empty beer bottles. "You want another one," he asks.

"Yeah, sure."

"I'll take one when I get back," Patrick says, standing up. He holds up his phone. "I gotta call a buddy of mine." He shoots Addison a smile before walking out of the room.

"I'm good. I'm gonna take a bathroom break, so don't start the next game without me," Addison replies, then leaves the room.

Bobby stands up and walks over to the fridge. Sam stands up and silently grabs a wrench off a nearby tool box. He raises the wrench, ready to bring down over the older hunter's head, but Bobby turns and knocks him out with a pipe. "May have been born at night, boy, but it wasn't last night," Bobby says. He puts down the pipe and grabs the rope off the counter. When he turns back, Sam's gone. "Not good."

Bobby tosses the rope down and grabs his shotgun. "Hey, is every..." Addison trails off when Bobby shoots her a look as she reenters the room. She tenses and looks around the room. She bends down and pulls a knife out of her boot. They had been prepared in case this happened after discussing the lengths that Sam might go to in order to not have his soul put back in.

"Let's not do anything hasty here, Sam," Bobby calls, as he and Addison slowly enter the kitchen. The closet door was still closed. Addison stands back while Bobby bolts the basement door. He opens the closet door and ushers her in before closing the door behind him. The door knob rattles and they move back from the door. An axe chops a hole the door and they see Sam on the other side. "Don't say, 'Here's Johnny.'"

"I gotta do this, Bobby," Sam replies. "I'm sorry. You shouldn't have cornered yourself."

"I didn't." Bobby pulls a lever and Sam falls through the floor.

Addison pushes open the broken remains of the door and sees the trap door down to the basement. "How long do you think we'll be able to hold him down there?"

"Long enough for Dean to get back," Bobby answers. A banging comes from the basement door and they walk over to it. "Reinforced steel core. Titanium kick plates. Get comfy."

"Sam, you wanna tell us why you want to kill us," Addison asks. Patrick walks back in, gun clutched in his hand.

"I just, uh, I have to do this," Sam answers.

"And who told you that, Sam," Patrick asks, exchanging a look with Bobby.

"Dean shoves that soul back in me, think how bad that could really be. I can't let it happen, Patrick. I mean, it's not like I wanna kill Bobby. You've been nothing but good to me."

"So, what, demon deal or something," Bobby questions.

"Spell."

"You're making a mistake, Sam."

"I'm trying to survive."

"Dean has a way to make it safe for you to have your soul," Addison argues.

"Oh, yeah, what, some wall inside my head that maybe stays up? Come on."

"If it works—"

"Yeah, what if it doesn't? Dean doesn't care about me. He just cares about his little brother, Sammy, burning in Hell. He'll kill me to get that other guy back."

"Sam, we know this is scary. But you know what's scarier? You, right now."

"You're not in your right head, Sam," Bobby says. "You're not giving us much choice here." Silence. "Sam? Balls." Bobby unlocks the door and opens it. There was no sign of Sam in the basement. Bobby cocks his shotgun. "Ain't nobody killing me in my house but me." He starts down the stairs with Addison and Patrick right behind him. They look around the basement. "I don't wanna blow your legs out, boy, but I will."

They search the basement, but there's no trace of Sam. Addison and Patrick walk over to Bobby, who was standing by the panic room. She looks in and finds a ladder under the vent. Bobby moves to open the door. He pulls his hand back to find it covered in blood. Addison lets out a breath. "Split up and look for him," she asks and Bobby nods. "Be careful."

"You do the same," Bobby replies, before walking off.

Addison starts to walk away, but Patrick grabs her arm. "Addison, I know you and Sam are close, but if push comes to shove, you can't hesitate," he quietly says.

"I know, Dad," Addison softly replies. She shoots him a small smile. "I'll be fine."

* * *

Addison winces when the stair creaks as she walks down them. There had been no sign of Sam in the area of the junkyard she had searched or in Bobby's house. The last thing she wanted to do was give any clue as to where she was. Addison finds Bobby tied to a chair with a gag in his mouth. He shakes his head and she frowns in confusion as she takes a step towards him. She then spots Patrick, lying on the floor, unconscious. "Dad," Addison says, moving towards him. But before Addison can do anything, Sam grabs her from behind. She struggles to get away from him, but Sam shoves her into a nearby table, knocking the wind out of her.

She slams her head back but he dodges. Sam tightens his grip on her. She brings her feet up and pushes off the table causing him to stumble back. Addison brings her elbow down near his groin and he releases her. She turns to punch him but he catches her fist and punches her. Addison falls to the floor and Sam stares at her for a moment before turning to Bobby. He grabs a knife off the table. Addison pushes herself up and runs at Sam. She catches him around the waist and tackles him the the floor.

She wrestles the knife out of his grasp and tosses it across the room. Spotting a shotgun sitting on a table, Addison pushes herself up. A hand wraps around her leg and pulls her to the ground. She tries crawling away, but he yanks her back. Sam grabs the knife out of the back of her jeans. He slams the knife into her thigh, then grabs her right arm and pulls it backwards, dislocating her shoulder. Sam stands up and wipes the bloody knife on his shirt. Addison hugs her arm to chest and starts crawling along the floor, searching for a gun to use.

"I really wish you didn't do this, Addison," Sam says, walking over to her. He slams a foot on her back and she cries out in pain. He kneels down and grabs a fist full of her hair. Addison closes her eyes as he yanks her head back. "You were always a good fuck."

"Sam, please don't do this," Addison softly begs. "Please, please, please." Sam slams her head into the hard concrete floor. Her body goes limp and he stands up.

"I'm sorry, Bobby, but I have to do this," Sam says, as he walks over to Bobby and raises the knife. A hand grabs his wrist and he looks back to see Dean.

"Hi, Sam. I'm back," Dean coldly greets, then punches his younger brother. Dean quickly undoes the ropes around Bobby, then runs over to Addison. He rolls her over onto her back. Blood covered Addison's face. "Ads? Addison!"

"Dean," Bobby says and Dean looks at him. "We need to get him locked up before he wakes up." Dean looks over at his unmoving brother and sighs, knowing that Bobby was right. He reluctantly stands up and joins Bobby.

* * *

Dean opens the window to the panic room and finds Sam still unconscious. After he and Bobby had dragged Sam into the panic room and handcuffed him to the cot, he had carried an unconscious Addison upstairs and temporarily patched up her leg. He cleaned off the blood off her face but he didn't know full extent of her injuries. Patrick was sitting in an arm chair, keeping an eye on Addison and an ice pack to his head. "I can't keep doing this, Bobby," Dean says, turning away from the window. "What, am I gonna tie him up every time he tries to kill someone? And that's not gonna hold him. I mean he's—"

"Capable of anything," Bobby interrupts.

Dean sighs. "What am I supposed to do here?"

"I don't know."

Dean walks back over and looks into the panic room to see Sam wake up. He stares at Sam for a moment, then closes the window. He turns and walks upstairs only to find Death sitting at the kitchen table. "Dean, join me," Death says. Dean glances in the den to find Addison still asleep on the couch and Patrick keeping a silent vigil next to her. Death holds out a hot dog. "Brought you one. From a little stand in Los Angeles known for their bacon dogs. Sit."

Dean sits down at the table. "Wow, what's with you and cheap food?"

"I could ask you the same thing. Thought I'd have a treat before I put the ring back on." Dean pulls out the ring from his pocket. "Heavier than it looks, isn't it? Sometimes you just want the thing off. But you know that. Not hungry?"

"Look, I think you know that I flunked. So there. Oh and by the way, I, uh, I sucked being you. I screwed up the whole natural order thing but I'm sure you knew about that too."

"So if you could go back, would you simply kill the little girl? No fuss, no stomping your feet?"

"Knowing what I know now? Yeah."

"I'm surprised to hear that. Surprised and glad."

"Yeah, well, don't get excited. I would've saved the nurse. Okay? That's it."

"I think it's a little more than that. Today, you got a hard look behind the curtain. Wrecking the natural order is not quite such fun when you have to mop up the mess. Is it? This is hard for you, Dean. You throw away your life because you've come to assume that it'll bounce right back into your lap. The human soul is not a rubber ball. It's vulnerable, impermanent, but stronger than you know and more valuable than you can imagine. So I think you've learned something today."

"Wanna know what I think? I think you knew that I wouldn't last a day."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"I lost. Fine. But at least have the balls to admit that it was rigged from the jump."

"Most people speak to me with more respect."

"I didn't mean-"

"We're done here. It's been lovely. But now I'm going go to Hell to get your brother's soul."

Dean looks at Death, shocked. "Why would you do that for me?"

"I wouldn't do it for you. You, your brother, and your girlfriend keep coming back. You're an affront to the balance of the universe and you cause disruption on a global scale."

"Apologize for that."

"But you have use. Right now, you're digging at something. The intrepid detective. I want you to keep digging, Dean."

"So you just gonna be cryptic or—"

"It's about the souls. You'll understand when you need to."

Death picks up his ring and starts to put it on. "Wait," Dean says. "With Sam, is this wall thing really gonna work?"

"Call it seventy-five percent."

Death slides on his ring and vanishes. Dean jumps up and runs down into the basement. "Bobby," Dean calls. "Open the door."

"What happened," Bobby asks.

"Now!"

Bobby opens the door. "Get away from me," Sam shouts. Death walks around the cot and places his cane next to Sam. "Don't! Don't!"

Death opens a briefcase and bright light emits from it. "Now, Sam, I'm gonna put up a barrier inside your mind."

"No, don't touch me."

"It might feel a little itchy. Do me a favor. Don't scratch the wall. Because, trust me, you're not gonna like what happens."

"Please. Don't do this." Death reaches into the briefcase and picks up the soul. "No. No. You don't know. You don't know what'll happen to me. Dean, please. No. No." Death places the soul over Sam's chest and pushes it. Sam screams in pain. Then he falls quiet. Death disappears and Dean looks at Bobby.

Upstairs in the den, Patrick tightly clutches Addison's hand. He presses a soft kiss to the back of her hand and watches as his daughter's chest rises and falls. "Sarah," Patrick softly says, looking out the window. "I know you're here."

A soft flutter of wings causes Patrick to look up. A young blonde woman wearing light blue scrubs standing next to him. "Hello, Patrick," she softly greets, with a smile.

"Heal her, Sarah."

Sarah places two fingers on Addison's forehead and she coughs, but doesn't wake up. "She'll be fine in the morning. It'll take a couple of weeks for her leg and shoulder injuries to heal, but you don't have to worry about the worst of it."

Patrick lets out a relived breath. "Thank you. How's Mark doing?"

"He's still in a coma. His minor injuries have fully healed, but he won't wake up unless I fully heal him. Which I can't do."

"Can't or won't," Patrick questions, looking at the woman. She stares at him for a second, then disappears in a flutter. He runs a hand over his face. "Damn angels."


	12. Like A Virgin

Chapter 12 - Like A Virgin

Dean watches as Addison moves around in the kitchen. Her leg was still healing, which wasn't that worrisome. But the fact that she hadn't said much over the past week did worry him. Sam still hadn't woken up which worried him. And what Castiel had told him wasn't helping things. The sound of something being placed in front of him causes Dean to turn to Bobby. "Like my daddy always said, 'just cause it kills your liver don't mean it ain't medicine,'" the older hunter says, sitting down behind his desk. "Sam still asleep?"

Dean picks up the glass and drinks the whiskey. "Yeah."

"He'll wake up."

Dean couldn't help doubt that. "Yeah."

"Dean, he's been through how much? Somehow, he always bounces back." Bobby glances at Addison. Then quietly adds, "She'll bounce back. She always does."

"Sam's never been through this." Dean finishes his drink and sets the glass down. He notices the newspaper. "Job?"

"Might be," Bobby says, handing him the paper.

"Can I help? Send me to the library? Anything?"

"Couple goes up in a light plane. Wreckage was just found in the woods."

"There's a case?" Dean turns and sees Addison standing right behind him. She looks between the two hunters. "What," Addison asks.

"You feeling okay, Ads," Dean asks her.

Addison rolls her eyes. "I'm fine." She sees the disbelieving look on his face and sighs. "My leg still hurts, but I'm fine. So, Bobby, what's up with the case? I mean, couple goes up in a plane and it crashes doesn't exactly send up the red flags."

"Pilot was found seventeen miles away, flambeed," Bobby explains. "Girl's just gone. No body, no nothing."

"Okay, I'm not changing the channel," Dean says, rubbing his face.

"Dean."

Dean places his glass down on the desk with a thud. He turns to see Sam standing in the living room. "Sam? Are you—"

Sam crosses the length between and tightly embraces his brother. Sam walks over to Bobby and hugs him. "Good to see you," Bobby tells him.

Addison awkwardly smiles at Sam. She couldn't help that she briefly flashed to the week before when they had fought. "Addison." She tenses when he hugs her, but she hugs back anyway. Sam steps back, but keeps his hands on her waist. "Wait. I saw you - I - I felt Lucifer snap your neck, Ads."

"Um, Cas, he—" Addison begins.

"Cas is alive?"

"Yeah," Dean replies. "Cas - Cas is fine. Sam, are you okay?"

"Actually, um...I'm starving."

After making Sam a sandwich, the group sits around the kitchen table, watching him eat. "So, Sam," Dean begins.

"Yeah," Sam replies through a mouthful.

"What's the last thing you remember?"

"The field and then I fell."

"Okay and then?"

"Um, I woke up in the panic room."

"That's it," Bobby questions. "You really don't remember—"

"Well, let's be glad," Dean interrupts, shooting Bobby a look. "Who wants to remember all that hell?"

"Well, how long was I gone," Sam asks.

"A year and a half," Addison answers.

"What? I was downstairs - I don't remember anything. So how'd I get back? Was it Cas?"

"Not exactly," Dean tells him.

"Dean, what did you do?"

"Me and Death—"

"Death? The horseman?"

"I had leverage. It's done."

"You sure?"

"It's over. Slate's wiped."

"Well, isn't this just neat and cleaned," Bobby comments.

Dean shoots Bobby a look. "Yes, it is, for once."

"Is there anything else I should know," Sam asks.

"No. Another beer?"

* * *

Addison yawns as she drops her duffle bag in the trunk of the Impala. She leans against the Impala and rubs her thigh. She ignores the worried look that flashes across Dean's face. "Sam still asleep," Bobby asks, opening the front door.

"Yeah, let him rest. We'll call him later," Dean tells them, slamming the trunk closed.

"Call me from where?"

They turn to see Sam standing there. "Oh. Uh, there's this thing in Oregon," Dean explains.

"Great. I'm in."

"Whoa, whoa, you just got vertical."

"Exactly. I'm up. I'm good."

"Well, a few more days of shit cable couldn't hurt."

"Right, because that's what you did when you got back from Hell."

Dean nods. "All right. You, me, Ads, and Bobby."

"Oh, you three go on ahead. You got this covered," Bobby says. "I, uh, forgot I promised that idijt Rufus I'd work the phones for him, so..."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, yeah. You three enjoy catching up, okay," Bobby tells them, then walks off.

Sam frowns in confusion. "What was that?"

"One part age, three parts liquor," Dean answers before they climb into the Impala.

* * *

"You got it, officer. Thank you. You too," Sam says, hanging up his phone as the Impala speeds down a dark highway. It was like old times with the boys in front and Addison asleep in the backseat. "So get this, besides the crash, there were two other disappearances in town this week."

"Really," Dean replies.

"Yeah. Last weekend, a college girl vanished from her apartment. On the seventeenth floor. Then three days ago another girl didn't make it home from school."

"They know each other?"

"No. No connection. Just young and female, like the plane crash girl."

"What would disappear a girl out of the sky anyway?"

"Good question." Sam looks out the window for a second before turning to Dean. "So you never even tried, huh?"

"Tried?"

"To go live a life, after. You do remember you promised that, right?"

Dean tenses. "Yeah, I remember."

"So why didn't you try?"

"What makes you think I didn't?"

"Because look at you. Look at this. You're exactly the same. Ads too. Well, except for her hair."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Dean pauses. "I was with them for a year, Lisa and Ben."

"A year? So then what?"

"Didn't work out." Dean turns up the radio and Sam immediately turns it down. "Sam—"

"What about Ads? I mean, you didn't let her go."

Dean tightens his grip on the steering wheel. "I did. Ads was on her own for a year. She traveled and hunted. I ran into her on a job and she stuck around afterwards."

"Huh."

"What," Dean asks, glancing at his younger brother.

"It's just Ads said she wanted to leave when we thought you were gonna say yes to Michael. She said if she survived the apocalypse that she wanted to leave and for us to leave her alone. Kinda weird that she would run into you on a job and stick around."

"She changed her mind, I guess," Dean replies and turns up the radio.

* * *

"You're, uh, Penny Dessertine's sister, right," Dean asks while they put up their fake badges as they stand on the front porch of the small suburban house.

The woman nods. "We'd just like to ask you a few questions," Addison says.

"Look, the cops already came by. I'm tired. So if you don't mind..." the woman tells them.

"I understand. Really, I do," Sam interrupts. "I know how hard this must be. We'd just like to figure out what happened. This will be quick. I promise."

"Okay. Fine. Come in." The trio makes their way into the house. The woman leads them to a soft pink bedroom. "Penny was very shy. Kept to herself. Not at all what you'd call adventurous."

"What, like flying through a lighting storm in a two seater," Dean asks.

"She was terrified of that thing. She just did it for Stan."

Addison raises an eyebrow. "Stan?"

"They were just starting to get serious. She didn't wanna seem, you know, not interested. I just wish I'd told her to stay home. We don't even have a body to bury."

* * *

Addison groans as she pulls on a pair of yoga pants. Her leg had been hurting for most of the afternoon. A knock comes from the door. "Ads, you okay," Sam asks.

She closes her eyes. "Yeah, I'm fine," she answers. Dean had left her and Sam alone in the motel while he went to pick up some food. And Addison had spent the entire time hiding out in the bathroom. It was hard because she knew the Sam on the other side of the door wasn't responsible for hurting her. But it didn't change the fact that it was his face that she saw in her nightmares. Taking a deep breath, Addison walks out of the room. She sits down at the table and notices the look on Sam's face. "I'm fine. I just hurt my leg last week. That's all."

The motel room door opens and they turn to see Dean enter with a drink tray and bag of food. "What do you got," he asks.

"Well, looks like those other two missing girls both baked cookies for the Lord," Sam explains.

"What is that, code?"

"Church choir, bake sales, uh, promise ring clubs, the works. They were good girls. But Penny wasn't even a Christian, so—"

"I have another theory." Dean pulls out a pink notebook. "Penny's diary."

"Did you steal that from her room?"

"I love that you even ask me that."

"And why wouldn't I?"

"No reason. So girlnappings. What if it's not about religion? What if it's about purity?"

"You mean you think they're all—"

"Virgins, guys. Virgins."

"Penny was twenty-two."

"Yeah with a pink room."

"So, she liked pink," Addison states.

"And stuffed teddy bears."

"I like teddy bears."

Dean clears his throat. "'I've decided I'm going to give Stan my most precious gift.'"

"That sounded so creepy coming from you."

"I think I delivered it."

"You know, you could have led with the diary, you know? Anyways, let's say you're right. Fine. Who would want virgins," Sam asks.

Dean shrugs. "You got me. I prefer ladies with experience."

"Oh please, like you've never been with a virgin," Addison says.

"Just the one."

"Really?" Dean nods. "What about during high school?"

"Revenge sex against loser boyfriends, they were older, or we left before it got that far. Like I said, there was just the one."

"Huh."

* * *

A girl, Melissa, being attacked in the middle of the night by a creature from the sky was the reason they were currently standing around a hospital bed. "It happened so fast," Melissa says.

"Melissa, it's okay," Addison softly tells the teenager. "Can you tell us what attacked you?"

"It - it looked like, uh, a giant bat." The trio exchanges a look. "You think I'm making it up, right? That's what the other cops said."

"Well, we're not them."

"It came right at me. It was huge. I swear. That's how I got this." Melissa pulls back the hospital gown to reveal two long scratches on her back.

"So it attacked and then what happened," Sam asks.

"I don't know. I passed out and when I woke up, it was gone."

"Is there anything else you can think of? Anything you can tell us, even if it doesn't seem important?"

"Well, my ring got lost. Or else that thing stole it, if that makes any sense."

"What kind of ring," Dean questions.

"Gold. Promise ring."

The boys exchange a look. "Promise ring. So, uh, from, like a church, like a purity ring?"

"Yeah. Why?"

Dean clears his throat. "I gotta ask. Ah...Melissa, look, nobody is judging anybody here, okay? Believe me. But should you really be wearing that ring?"

Melissa frowns. "Well, I mean, I am—"

Dean shoots her a knowing look. "Really?"

Melissa looks between the three of them. Dean stares while Sam and Addison just apologetically smile. "Matt Barne didn't count," Melissa confesses.

Addison pats her hand. "Thank you for your time, Melissa."

"So, what, you think Batman tried to rape her," Sam asks as they walk out of the hospital.

Addison scoffs. "Batman doesn't have to rape people, he just goes and bones Catwoman. Whatever attacked Melissa obviously thought Matt Barne counted."

"You think?"

"Well, I think it just goes to show that being easy is pretty much all upside," Dean comments.

Sam scoffs. "So, what kind of thing likes virgins and gold?"

"P. Diddy?"

"You know, it's comforting."

"What's that?"

"I died for a year, came back, and you're still not funny."

"Shut up. I'm hilarious."

* * *

Sam lets out a frustrated breath as music emits from his computer. Addison, who was stretched out on one of the beds, raises an eyebrow while Dean continues pining clues to the wall. "This can't be possible," Sam declares.

"Try me, Dean replies.

"Um, I Googled fire, claws, flying, stealing virgins and gold and it all takes me to the same place."

"Where?"

"World of Warcraft fansites."

"What makes it do that," Addison asks, closing her laptop.

"Dragons." Dean stares at him. "See? Told you. Not possible."

"Actually, it is."

"How? In what reality, Ads?"

"Well—"

"It's been a strange year," Dean interrupts, moving to grab his phone of the dresser. "We should get a second opinion." He dials a number and sits down by Addison's feet. "What do you know about dragons? Seriously. Could you make a few calls? Humor me. You're gentleman and a scholar. Everything's fine. Sam and Ads say hey."

Dean hangs up and stares at his phone. "You okay," Sam asks.

"Yeah."

"Bobby say anything?"

"Nope."

A few hours later, Dean slams Sam's laptop shut with a sigh. He looks up to find Sam leafing through John's journal. "Dad never wrote anything about dragons. I promise," Dean tells him. "I'd remember if I read _The Neverending Story_ in there."

"Hey, did we hunt a skinwalker lately," Sam asks.

Dean tenses. "Doesn't ring a bell. Why?"

"I don't know. Just deja vu or something. Are you sure? I could have sworn—"

"You gotta remember your eggs are still a little scrambled, right. But, yeah, I'm sure."

"All right. Yeah. Never mind."

Dean's phone rings and he picks it up. "Hey, Bobby. What do you got? Dr. Visyak, SFU. Got it. Thanks." Dean stands up and Addison clears her throat, shooting him a look. "All right. Me and Ads are going to San Francisco, figure out how to kill these things. You figure out where they are."

"Did Bobby say where they like to park," Sam asks as Addison and Dean grab their bags.

"No."

"Great. Back to the lore."

"Which says what, that they live in Middle Earth?"

"No, caves."

"You're such a nerd." Dean shakes his head and walks out of the room. Addison shoots Sam a smile and follows after Dean.

* * *

Addison sighs and shifts in the front seat as the Impala speeds down the highway. "Look, I know that it wasn't really Sam who kicked my ass last week, but it doesn't change the fact that I wake up from having a nightmare where he kills me. And if I could've come up with a good excuse to sit this one out, then I wouldn't be here."

Dean nods. "I get it, Ads." His grip on the steering wheel tightens. "What made you stay? Cause according to Sam, you didn't want anything to do with us once everything."

Addison shifts. "Sam came and found me a couple of days after I left you."

Dean tenses. "So, what, you just changed your mind and decided to stick around?"

"He asked me to stay."

"Sam asked you to stay and you just decided to stay? That's it?"

Addison shrugs. "Yeah, that's it, Dean."

"And that's when you two started hooking up?"

"No, that didn't start until about a few months later. Why are you asking me this? Hell, why are you so interested in my sex life?"

Dean shakes his head. "No reason." Addison shoots him a disbelieving look, but turns her gaze out the window.

* * *

Dr. Visyak's house was a large two story building in an exclusive neighborhood in San Francisco. Dean presses the intercom button as Addison looks around. "Yes," comes the reply.

Dean shoots Addison a look. "Dr. Visyak, my name is Dean Winchester and this is Addison Sloan."

"Office hours are Monday and Friday."

"Bobby Singer sent us." Nothing happens. "Hello?"

Dean sighs and steps back. The door opens and they turn to see a older blonde woman. Dean and Addison smile. "Hi."

They follow Dr. Visyak into the house. "Bobby Singer. Tell him something for me next time you see him. Actually, just kick him in the jewels. That's more poetic."

"No love lost between you two, huh?"

"No. Just the opposite."

"Oh?"

"That's his story to tell. He's the idiot. So, what's this about?"

"Dragons," Addison answers.

"Really?"

"What, no twelve sided dice joke," Dean comments.

"We can joke about them because they've disappeared. But they aren't funny. At all."

"Actually, there's one living in Portland," Addison says.

Dr. Visyak frowns. "Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"But how? I mean, why? It's been seven hundred years."

"Banner crop of crazy all the way around these days, doc," Dean answers.

"So you wanna know how to kill it."

"That's right."

"Well, you need a blade."

"What kind of blade," Addison asks.

"One forged with dragons' blood."

Dean and Addison exchange a look. "So you need one to kill one but gotta kill one to make one. How does that work out," he asks.

"Well, there aren't many dragon swords around anymore. Five or six tops, worldwide. There's the sword of St. George and of course Excalibur and—"

"You know a lot about this, don't you?"

"Well, I sure as hell better. I have one in the basement."

"You have one," Addison questions. "Can we see it?"

Dr. Visyak leads them down to the basement. "Finding it took two decades, countless hours, and some really bad sex with an Eastern European ambassador, but, yeah."

Dr. Visyak opens a pair of doors to reveal a sword in a stone. Dean scoffs as they move closer. "That is not real. Is that real? Is it Excalibur?"

"No. This is the Sword of Bruncvik. Love of my life."

"Why is it in a rock," Addison asks.

"You know, binding sword to stone used to be all the rage. To protect them."

Dean nods. "All right, well, how do we get this puppy out?"

Dr. Visyak laughs. "Oh, come on. You know this one. We need a brave knight who's willing to step up and kill the beast."

"Right. All right, well, I'll, uh, give it a whirl. Do you mind?"

Dr. Visyak motions for him to go ahead. Dean steps up onto the platform. He places a foot on the stone and grabs the sword. He pulls on it. But nothing happens. He keeps trying to pull it out and the sword doesn't budge. "Dean, you okay," Addison amusedly asks, after he falls down.

"Never better," Dean replies, standing up. He climbs onto the rock and tries pulling it out once more. "Oh, son of a bitch. That's really on there."

Dean starts to climb onto the rock for a third time, but Addison pushes him out of the way. "Sometimes it takes a woman to do a man's job," she says, climbing onto the rock. She tightly grips the handle and pulls as hard as she can, but it doesn't budge.

"Not as easy as it looks, princess," Dean mocks.

"Bite me."

"Later." Addison lets out an annoyed sigh and climbs off the rock. She looks at Dean. "Well, I have another idea."

Dr. Visyak frowns. "What?"

"You're not gonna like it."

* * *

Dr. Visyak runs in front of them as Dean and Addison reenter the room with the needed supplies. "You know what? I don't like this at all," she tells them. "You do realize that this is the single most valuable artifact that either of you have ever touched?"

"It's also the only weapon we got," Dean argues. "Look, I know what I'm doing, okay? I actually learned it all from Bobby." Dr. Visyak shoots him a disbelieving look. "Hey, whatever happened, there, you know he's at least a genius at this. You want us to kill that dragon or not?"

Dr. Visyak reluctantly steps to the side. "Okay."

"Trust me." Dean walks over and kneels next to stone. He pulls out a block of C4. "You rocks think you're so smart."

Addison clears her throat. "You do have a good insurance policy on this, right," she quietly asks Dr. Visyak, who stares at Addison with disbelief. "Okay."

They stand back and watch as Dean sets up the C4. He picks up the detonator and moves backwards. "All right. Welcome to the twenty-first century," he says. They walk out of the room and Dean closes the door. He presses a button and they hear an explosion. Dean opens the doors to reveal the stone in pieces. "Okay. Now..." He walks over and grabs the sword's handle only to find that the sword had broken in the explosion. He turns to Dr. Visyak. "You've got insurance for this, right?"

* * *

Sam looks at the broken piece of the sword. "And what are we supposed to do with this, give it a booster shot," he asks, glancing between Dean and Addison.

"It's what we got, all right. We just have to get closer. That's all," Dean counters. "Where are we on the caves?"

"Nowhere. Sewers, on the other hand. Here, check this out." Sam motions to a map spread out on the table. "So two of the disappearances happened within a mile of here. So I figured we start there, work our way around."

"Lovely. I love hanging out in sewers," Addison comments. She picks up the sword. "Let's go slay Smaug and steal his treasure."

Dean shakes his head as he and Addison get ready. "What," he asks, when he notices Sam standing there.

Sam sighs. "Nothing. Uh, yeah, let's go."

* * *

"Oh, God. Just when I get used to a smell, I hit a new flavor," Dean complains as they walk down the sewer. "Dude, we have been here for hours. There is nothing. I think the lore is off. Hey, what if dragons like nice hotels?"

"Bingo," Addison comments, noticing a pile of gold.

"Holy shit." Dean walks over and inspects the gold. "Okay, maybe there are dragons here."

"Wait. Dean, not now. Check this out," Sam says, moving down a different tunnel. Dean grabs a handful of gold and shoves it in his pocket. Addison stares at him and he shrugs before they follow Sam. Candles and a notebook were sitting in alcove. "A little arts and crafty for a giant bat, right?" Addison picks up the yellow notebook. "Huh."

"Hello? Is someone there," a voice shouts.

Addison sets the notebook down and they move further down the tunnel. A metal platform stretched across the room. And below the platform people were locked in a cage. "Hey, we're gonna get you," Dean tells them.

"He's coming back."

Sam pulls out a crowbar and starts to wedge it between the lock. Suddenly, he's thrown back. Dean grabs the sword as he and Addison turn to see a man wearing all back. "Where you think you gonna stick that," the dragon asks. Dean slashes at him, cutting the dragon's arm. "Where'd you get that?"

"Comic Con," Dean answers. He moves to swipe at the dragon but the dragon easily disarms him, knocking the sword off the platform. The dragon holds out a hand and it glows bright red. Sam comes up behind him and swings the crowbar at the dragon's head. Addison scoots the edge of the platform and reaches for the sword just as Dean does the same. A hand grips the back of her jacket and yanks her up before tossing her across the room. The dragon tosses Dean down the platform just as Sam drops the crowbar that a another dragon had grabbed and was heating up. He drops to the platform edge and easily grabs the sword. Dean jumps and punches a dragon. Sam looks between the dragons, then stabs the one in front Dean causing a purple light to emit from the dragon. Addison pulls herself up to see the other dragon fly off and the boys run after it.

* * *

Addison yawn as she pulls her wet hair into a ponytail. After releasing the hostages that the dragons were keeping, the trio had gathered everything they could from the dragons' lair and made their way back to Bobby's. She steps out of the bathroom as footsteps cautiously sound behind her. Addison turns to see Sam and she's instantly reminded of a guilty puppy. "Addison, I'm so sorry," Sam says.

"For what," Addison replies.

"Addison, I almost...I can't believe that I hurt you. It's...I can't..."

A look of realization crosses Addison's face. "Who told you?"

"Cas." Addison looks away, silently cursing the angel. "Ads, I'm so sorry. There's no excuse for what I did."

She sighs. "Sam, it - it wasn't - I know it wasn't you. And please don't beat yourself up about it, okay."

"Ads, I'm gonna make it up to you. I promise."

Addison nods. "Does Dean know that you know?"

"No. Not yet. I wanted to apologize to you and Bobby first."

She walks over to him and hugs him. "Apology accepted, Sammy."

* * *

Addison was sitting in one of the chairs in front of the large desk in Bobby's living room. Sam was sitting next to her while Dean stood behind her. Bobby sat behind the desk, with the book she had taken from the dragons' lair in front of him. He had called all of them into the living room. "Now, as near as I can figure it, this dates back around the 14th century," Bobby says.

"What language is it," Sam asks, leaning forward. Dean reaches over Addison to flip through the book.

"Da Vinci code. Real obscure Latin. Gonna take me my golden years to translate it all. Oh, and uh, FYI - that ain't paper."

"What is it," Dean asks, letting the page go.

"It's human skin."

"Ewe," Addison comments as Dean sits down on the couch.

Bobby turns the book around. "Okay. I'm fairly clear on this first bit. It basically describes this place. It's like the backside of your worst nightmares. It's all blood and bone and darkness. Filled with bodies and souls of all things hungry, sharp, and nasty."

"Monsters," Sam asks.

"It's monsterland. According to this, it goes by many names - most of which I can't pronounce - but I'm thinking you know 'purgatory'."

"Purgatory," Dean repeats and Bobby nods. "Awesome. Well, that is good to know. So, you're saying that these, uh, dragon freaks were squatting in the sewers and reading tone poems about purgatory?"

"Oh, no, no, no," Bobby counters. "They're reading an instruction manual."

"What?"

"If you're nuts enough to want to access to a place that gnarly, this book will show you how to open the door."

Addison frowns. "Door to purgatory," Dean says and takes a sip of his whiskey. "Well, I know a demon who would have loved to have know about that. So, how do you open the door?"

Bobby turns the page. It was obvious that something had been ripped out. "Ask Cloverfield. I'm pretty sure he's got that page. It gets worse."

"Worse," Sam asks.

"This ain't talking about how to take a vacation over there. This is all about opening a door to let something in."

"You mean they want to bring something here," Addison states and the older hunter nods. "What?"

Bobby shrugs. "I'm working on it."

"Could you give us something," Dean asks.

"I got a name."

"Okay."

"Mother."

"Mother," Sam repeats. "Mother of what? Mother of dragons?"

"I wish."

"It says it a few times here. 'Mother of all.'"

"What the hell does 'mother of all' mean?"

"I don't know," Bobby answers and a silence settles over the hunters.


	13. Unforgiven

Chapter 13 - Unforgiven

"What are you watching," Dean asks, entering the latest motel room. Sam was parked at the end of one bed while Addison was stretched out on the other. He sets the bag of food down on the table and shrugs out of his jacket.

"Just trying to catch up," Sam replies, turning off the TV. "So Mel Gibson really took a turn this past year, huh?"

"Or he's possessed. Seriously, think about it."

"Or he's just a asshole and doesn't care anymore," Addison counters.

Dean rolls his eyes and tosses them each a burrito. "So I just got off the blower with Bobby."

"Has he found anything else on the Mother of All thing?"

"Uh, no, nothing solid. He says it's quiet."

Sam's phone beeps and he walks over to grab it. "Quiet or drop dead silent," Addison asks.

"When is it ever just quiet?"

Sam frowns as he looks at his phone. "Hmm."

"What?"

Sam tosses his phone to Dean. A set of coordinates was displayed on the screen. "What are these, coordinates? Who's it from?"

"I have no idea," Sam answers. He grabs his laptop and sits down on the bed with it.

"Well," Dean impatiently asks a few minutes later.

"Uh, Bristol, Rhode Island, where three women disappeared in the last week. Apparently, the, uh, victims seemed to vanish into thin air."

"It could be something," Addison says. "Who sent it?"

"I don't know. It just kept ringing."

"What's that about," Dean questions.

Sam shrugs. "Could be another hunter looking for backup, throwing us a case? Who knows how many hunters I even met, working with the Campbells, you know? But I think we should go."

"Whoa, wait. We're just gonna drop everything?"

"Dude, two minutes ago, you weren't doing anything."

"You got mysterious coordinates from a mysterious Mr. X leading to a mysterious town? That doesn't throw up red flags to you?"

"I don't know. Maybe. But that doesn't mean we can just ignore a bunch of missing girls. Right?"

"Okay. We'll check it out. But if things get squirrelly, we dump out, okay?"

"Yeah."

 _Addison sighs as she wipes the steam off the mirror. She runs a hand through her newly dyed blonde hair. She steps out of the bathroom and freezes upon seeing the familiar figure sitting on her bed. Sam stands up and she can do nothing but stare at him. She grabs the Colt out of her duffle bag sitting on the dresser and aims it at him. "Ads, it's me."_

 _"Prove it," Addison coldly replies._

 _He holds out his arm and pulls out silver knife before slicing his forearm. She grabs a flask and tosses it to him. He takes a swig and throws the flask onto the bed behind him. "It's me," Sam repeats._

 _Addison shakes her head and quickly embraces him. "Oh my God," Addison mutters, stepping back. Her hands rest on his chest. "How — how are you — Oh my God."_

 _Sam chuckles as Addison hugs him once more. "I don't know," he replies. He reaches up and touches one of the blonde locks. "It's been less than a week and you decided to dye your hair."_

 _Addison shakes her head. "Wanted something different. Does Dean know?"_

 _"No. And you're not going to tell him."_

 _"Sam—"_

 _"I made Dean promise not to look for me. I made him promise to go be with Lisa and Ben and have an apple pie life, Ads. And since he's not here, then you want the same thing for him."_

 _Addison sighs. "So, are you going to make sure that I get on a plane to Europe or something?"_

 _"If that's what you want, but I was gonna see if you wanted to join me. Look, Ads, I know you want to leave, but I'm asking you stay. You wanted to leave because of Dean, but things will be different."_

 _"Sam—"_

 _"Just give it a few weeks. If you still want to leave, then I'll drop you off wherever you want."_

 _Addison pokes him in the chest. "Fine. But if I leave, then—"_

 _"I promise not to look for you."_

 _"Then your stupid ass better stay in touch," Addison finishes, tightly embracing him once more. Sam chuckles and presses a kiss to the top of her head._

"Well, freak's got a type - brunettes," Dean says, looking through the missing person flyers as they sit in a pirate themed restaurant in Bristol, Rhode Island. He holds up a picture of the one missing women. "This one's got a little bit of a wild side. It's all in the eyes, Sam. See it?"

"Aside from Dean's observations, these women having nothing in common," Addison says. "Different jobs, friends, everything. I mean, what's the connection?"

"I don't know. Why don't you guys figure that out? I'm gonna go hit the poop deck."

Addison shakes her in disbelief as Dean walks away. "Agent Roark," a woman asks, walking over to the table. "It's good to see you again."

Sam glances at Addison before turning to the woman. "It is."

"Oh, you remember my husband," the woman says, motioning to a man standing behind her. Sam nods unconvincingly. "Don."

"Of course, right. Um, hi."

"So, you're back cause it started again, right - the disappearances?"

"Uh, yeah. Yeah, right. Um, so if either of you two hear anything, please let me know."

"Where's your partner? The big bald guy? Agent Wynand, right?"

Sam awkwardly shifts. "Agent Wynand, of course—"

"Sex rehab," Dean answers, walking up behind them. "Yeah, you've heard of plushies, right?"

"These are, uh, these are my new partners."

"Hi. Pleasure," Dean replies, shaking the couple's hands while Addison smiles. "Uh, so, Agents, we should, uh—"

"Yeah. Yeah, of course."

"Of course. Uh, nice chatting with you, Agent Roark," the woman says.

"You too," Sam tells the woman. She lightly touches his shoulder before walking away with her husband.

"What was that," Dean questions. "She just cougar eyed you."

Sam blinks and looks up at Dean. "I think Samuel and I have worked a case in this town."

Dean scoffs. "You think?" He drops a polaroid on the table. In the background of the picture were Sam and Samuel. "Come on. Let's get the hell out of here."

 _Addison stares in disbelief. She thought she had gotten used to the secrets that everyone was keeping from her over the past five months. She had even gotten used to being put on research duty by Samuel. It was just the way the Campbells worked. And she was starting to hate it. She felt lonely and there would be days when she longed to call Dean. But currently, she didn't know what to believe. Sitting in an arm chair was her father. But he looked older, with more grey hair and wrinkles. "Ads," Patrick softly greets, standing up. Sam stood in the corner of the room while Samuel stood behind his desk. Addison's gaze goes between the three men._

 _"We'll give you two some time," Samuel says. He walks out of the room and Sam starts to follow, but Addison grabs his arm._

 _"I don't know what is going on, Sam, but this isn't funny," Addison angrily says._

 _Patrick sighs. "Addison, it's me."_

 _"Last time I checked my dad was dead. And he had been for ten years."_

 _"He's not a demon," Sam says. "He passed all the tests I did, Ads."_

 _Addison's grip on his arm tightens. "So, what, you sold your soul—"_

 _"I didn't sell my soul," Patrick interrupts. He takes a deep breath. "I faked it."_

 _Addison blinks. "What?"_

 _"I was never bit by a werewolf, Addison. I used my knife to make the mark on my arm." Patrick takes a step towards her, but Addison runs out of the room._

 _Patrick moves to follow her, but Sam blocks him. "Leave her alone for now," Sam says._

 _"That is my—" Patrick angrily begins._

 _"The only reason you got to see Addison again is because I asked her to hunt with me. You go and try to talk to her, then all you're gonna do is give her a good reason to leave. Give her some time." Patrick shakes his head, but doesn't try to go after Addison._

The trio quickly packs up and makes their way out of the restaurant. Once at the abandoned house they were staying in, Dean and Addison get to work packing up their gear. "Hey, come on. Hop to, would you," Dean tells Sam, who was researching instead of packing.

"We can't go, Dean," Sam replies.

"Uh, yeah, we can."

"No, listen - five guys went missing a year ago. They never found the bodies. I mean, that's got to be the job me and Samuel worked, right?"

"Great. What difference does it make?"

"A year ago, five guys go missing and - and now suddenly all these women go missing. Something's here. So either we just didn't stop it or we only thought we did."

"Okay, but why the gender bend, huh? First it's dudes. Now it's chicks. That's a totally different M.O."

"I don't know. Who knows? The point is, something's still here."

"Great. We'll call Bobby. He can deal with it."

"Why? We can deal with it."

"Are you serious," Dean disbelievingly asks him. "Sam, there is a reason that hunters don't hit the same town over again - cause we have a habit of leaving messes behind."

"Right. I agree."

"One of Dad's rules: you never use the same crapper twice."

"Everyone uses the same crapper twice."

"Not us. You know what I mean."

"Okay, look - this creature is still walking around cause of me, right? I mean, I let it go. Dad also said, 'you finish what you start.' Okay, I get it."

"Do you?"

"Yes. You're afraid I'll stroll down memory lane and I'll kick this wall in my head so hard, Hell comes flooding through, right? And then all of a sudden, I'm some drooling mess on the floor."

"It's not a joke," Dean snaps.

"I'll stay," Addison says, causing the boys to turn to her. "You guys go and I'll work this job. I'll call my dad."

Sam sighs. "Listen - what's happening here right now - it's because I messed up somehow, in some big way. So every person who gets taken, every person who dies - that's on me. I have to stop it. And you both would do the same thing."

"All right," Dean reluctantly agrees. "Me and Ads will follow up the brunettes. You see what you get from the cops."

 _Addison groans as she crawls into the bed she and Sam shared in the Campbell compound. The room was mostly empty, through she had her stuff spread out. She buries her face in her pillow, trying to ignore the pain in her abdomen. "Hey," Sam softly says, placing a hand on her back. "You feeling okay?"_

 _"I feel like I'm being stabbed," Addison mutters, lightly touching her right side._

 _Sam presses his lips to the top of her head. "Samuel found a case up in Rhode Island. We're going to go check it out."_

 _Addison winces as she sits up. She pulls him into a kiss. "Be careful," she whispers._

 _"Of course."_

 _She kisses him once more, then buries her face in the pillow. She doesn't know how much time passes before she feels the bed dip. "Sam?"_

 _"Nope," Patrick says, scooping her up. "You're going to the hospital. You've been laid up in here for two days. You've barely eaten. "_

 _"If I wasn't in so much pain right now, I'd fight you on this."_

 _"Yeah, I know you would, sweetheart."_

"Were you and Nicole roommates for a long time," Addison questions as she and Dean look around the apartment Nicole had shared with a few friends. It was like any typical apartment with pictures of Nicole and her roommates.

"Since college, but we've been best friends forever," the roommate answers. "This whole thing's really surreal. Are you any closer to finding her or..."

"We're doing everything we can," Addison interrupts. "The night that Nicole went missing, did she say anything?"

"Nothing. It's like I told the cops - I wish there was something."

Dean picks up a business from a bowl sitting on a counter and holds it up to them. Addison raises an eyebrow seeing 'Agent H. Roark' written on it. "Where'd you get this," he asks.

"Oh, Nicole got that from that FBI guy."

"Agent Roark. About - about yea high," Dean asks, waving a hand above his head.

"Yeah, that was him. One of the men that disappeared last year lived in our building."

"Oh," Addison replies.

"So Agent Roark was asking us all questions about it, I guess."

"You guess? So he - he came by here," Dean asks.

"Oh, he came - by a few times."

"Did he? To, uh...speak to Nicole."

"Right."

"And how would you...characterize their relationship?"

"Relationship? No, they weren't having a—"

"Just the - the tone or the nature of their conversation."

"Well...loud. And...athletic," the roommate nervously answers. Dean and Addison exchange a look.

Addison forces a smile. "Thank you for your time," she says, then quickly walks out of the apartment. Dean nods at the roommate, then goes after Addison. He finds her leaning against the building, looking up at the sky. "I feel like I need to get tested."

"Yeah, I don't blame you on that," Dean replies. "What do you remember about this hunt?"

"I was in the hospital. I didn't do this hunt." She notices the concerned look on Dean's face. "Appendicitis. I'm fine now."

* * *

Addison jumps when she and Dean enter the house and find Sam waiting by the door with his gun ready. Addison rolls her eyes and walks over to the couch. "Hey, Sam," Dean greets. "So how does it feel to be a fugitive again? Hate to say 'I told you so.'"

"You love to say 'I told you so,'" Addison counters.

"Actually, you're right. I do love to say 'I told you so.' So we found out something on Crazy Eyes Mcgee. Turns out you two knew each other."

Sam frowns. "What?"

"Biblically. We just spoke to her roommate. I gotta say, man, you really got around. I mean soulless or not, I'm kind of impressed."

"And you probably want to get tested," Addison comments. "I know I'm getting tested."

"We got a 1057 1100 block of Hope Street. Over," a voice says over the police scanner.

"Missing person. Another one," Sam says.

Dean moves in front of Sam as he tries to leave. "Okay, all right. We'll go, you stay."

"Yeah. Fine."

"Sam."

"What?"

"Stay here."

"Fine. Go."

Addison sighs and walks out of the door with Dean. After checking out the latest missing person report, which happened to be about the woman they had met at the pirate restaurant, Dean pulls out his phone and calls Sam. He shoots Addison annoyed look. "Sam, answer the phone, damn it. We found the connection between the missing chicks. They all fucked the same dude. You. It's you, Sam. The texts, the victims, all of it, it's a trap for you. Call me back."

Dean hangs up his phone and they climb into the Impala. "Dean, we both know there was no way in hell that Sam would've gave this up if he thought he was responsible for this," Addison quietly points out. "That's just the kind of person that Sam is."

"Yeah, well, I'd like for him to listen to me for once," Dean counters.

* * *

Sam hadn't been at the abandoned house when they got back, so they had went looking for him. They found him at the house of the woman who had helped him escaped from jail the day before. "So we know that this is a monster with, uh, opposable thumbs, and unlimited text messaging. And we know that it wants to kill you specifically. Does that about cover it," Dean says as he paces around the living room of the house they were staying in.

"It's an arachne," Sam replies.

"A what?"

"I remembered."

"You remembered? I'm sorry, uh, what else have you remembered?"

"Don't worry, all right. It's nothing to do with Hell."

"Uh huh. Not yet, anyway."

"What can I do, Dean? Stuff is just starting to come back, all right. Maybe it's natural."

Dean shakes his head. "We're leaving."

"No, we can't."

"We are not the only hunters on the planet, okay? We could call Bobby. He and Rufus could come wrap this up. Or we can call Patrick. He can come take care of this."

"How? Like you said, it could be anybody. We got jack for leads."

"Well, we know that this monster hates you," Addison comments.

"I know who did this. I just - I can't remember."

Sam sighs and goes to grab another file out of the box, but Dean rips out of his hands. "I don't think you get the risk here, Sam," Dean tells him.

"Yes, I do."

"Really? You get that every time you scratch that wall, that you are playing Russian Roulette?"

"Dean, I get that you're worried and I know what you think is gonna happen. But you know what? It will or it won't."

"Sam—"

"Look, I'm starting to think that I might have done some bad stuff here, Dean. And so I don't care if it's dangerous. I have to set things right. Cause I got a fucking soul now and it won't let me just walk away." Sam sighs. "I'm staying here and I need you, both of you, to back me up."

Addison places a comforting hand on Sam's shoulder. "Of course."

Dean scoffs. "All right. Why not? Well, let's _Memento_ this thing, shall we?"

The trio gets to work on pinning things to the wall and connecting the dots. Dean and Addison exchange a look as Sam looks at the wall. "You okay," Addison asks him.

"I know what happened," Sam says, turning to them.

* * *

Addison pulls her pea coat close as she climbs out of the Impala with the boys. Dean opens the trunk and hands them each a machete. "Guys, back door," Sam says, walking towards the back of Brenna's house.

"Sam," Addison calls, noticing a light on in a shed behind Brenna's house.

"Light's on in the shed," Dean tells him. The trio walk over and enter the shed. No one was in there. "My spidey senses are tingling." Sam shushes them.

"Sam," Brenna calls.

"Brenna," Sam replies as they move further into the shed.

They find Brenna sitting behind an old filing cabinet. She glances at Dean and Addison before turning back to Sam. "What you did to Roy - is it true," Brenna tearfully asks.

A hand grabs Dean's shoulder and tosses him across the shed. Addison turns, machete raised. An African-American man with scars on his face and neon blue eyes grabs her arm and throws her across the room before doing the same to Sam. Roy grabs Sam and slams him against the wall. "Answer the question, Sam," Roy angrily says. Sam stares at him and Roy knocks him out.

With a groan, Addison opens her eyes and finds herself and the boys tied to posts and covered in spiderwebs. "This is so gross," she mutters and Dean shoots her a disbelieving look.

"You gotta admit, I look good, Sam," Roy says. He motions to a wound on his forehead. "Well, except for your little souvenir."

"You win. I'm here," Sam replies. Dean notices mirror shards on the ground between him and Addison and slowly starts pushing his hand through the spider web. "Let Brenna go. This has nothing to do with her."

"You come back around, start hanging out with my wife, and you think this has nothing to do with her? But then, you thought I was out of the way, right? I gotta say, you get a hell of a lot wrong, Sam. Like that thing you threw me to. You thought it was here to feed."

Dean's hand slowly pulls the mirror shard towards him as realization crosses Sam's face. "She was here to breed."

"Yeah. That thing was playing the mating game and I guess I fit her profile. Me and all those other poor bastards. She bit us to turn us into what she was. By the time you pulled that trigger, I wasn't human. Not anymore. So bullets didn't hurt me much. Oh and neither did fire." Addison shifts as she watches Dean cut through his spider web with the mirror shard. "So after you left, well, we ran. Me, I hid for months, nearly starved. But you know what kept me going? Every night, I dreamed about ripping your throat out. I thought I was sending you a neon sigh. The text? Taking all those girls you fucked? I was kicking so much sand in your eye. I couldn't figure out why you weren't getting it. Then Bren tells me you've got brain damage. It's just too good."

"Where are they, Roy? The women."

"Scattered in the wind. They're like me now. You killed one monster, you made so many more. Congratulations. The only question is: Do I kill you or turn you?"

The moment Roy turns around, Dean rips free of the spiderweb and lunges for Roy. Roy throws him across the room and starts towards. "No. Roy, stop," Brenna begs. Roy grabs Dean and slams him against the wall. Brenna runs over and grabs the machete ground and slices Sam free from the spiderwebs. Sam takes the machete and runs up to Roy before chopping his head off. Roy's head and body falls to the ground.

 _Addison groans as she sits down in a chair the library of the Campbell Compound. She sees the concerned look Patrick sends her, but she forces a smile. While things weren't great between the two of them, they were at least on talking terms. "How are you feeling," Patrick asks, sitting down across from her._

 _"Better, but there's still some pain," Addison replies. She takes a deep breath. "Look, Dad, I'm still pissed at you. I mean, you faked your death and lied to me for the past ten years. That's not easy to forgive. But we can talk, occasionally."_

 _"I'm happy with that."_

 _The door opens and Addison smiles when Sam walk in. "Sam," she brightly greets._

 _Sam softly kisses her, before sitting down next to her. "I found us a case."_

 _"Didn't you and Samuel just get back from a case in Rhode Island," Patrick asks._

 _"We did." Sam shrugs. "I like to work."_

 _"Where is this case," Addison asks._

 _"Miami."_

 _Addison shakes her head and pushes herself up. "Say no more. I'll do all the research, poolside while having a few martinis. As soon as I find my bikini, we can hit the road."_

 _Sam smirks as he watches Addison walk out of the library. "Sam." He turns to see Patrick staring at him. "Are you feeling okay?"_

 _"I'm perfectly fine, Patrick," Sam tells him, standing up. "And don't worry, I'll make sure Addison takes it easy."_

"You okay," Dean asks, pausing by the door. He exchanges a worried glance with Addison before turning back to his brother. Addison sighs as she picks up one of the duffle bags and walks out of the house.

Sam sighs. "You were right. We shouldn't have come back here."

"Well, you did kill, uh, spider man."

Sam scoffs. "So you're suggesting what I did back there was a good thing?"

"I'm justing saying—"

"What?"

"Sam, you gotta understand that all that shit last year, all of it, none it was you."

"Let's be crystal clear, okay? It was me."

Dean shrugs and turns away. "Well, can I get you anything?"

"What are you now, my waitress?"

"I'm just trying to make you feel better. Don't be a bitch."

Sam sighs. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Yeah, you look fine. All I'm saying is, everything is gonna be okay."

"I don't know, Dean. If I did this here, then who knows how many other—"

Sam falls to the floor as Addison enters the room. "Dean," she shouts, running over to him. They kneel on either side of Sam.

"Sammy, talk to me," Dean orders, but Sam just stares off into space.


	14. Mannequin 3: The Reckoning

Chapter 14 - Mannequin 3: The Reckoning

"Sam. Sam," Dean tearfully says. He and Addison were still kneeling on either side of Sam, who was motionless. Addison places two fingers on Sam's throat and lets out a relived breath when she finds a pulse. Dean shakes his shoulder. "Sammy! Come on. Come on, damn it."

Sam's eyes open and he takes a gasping breath. "Hey, you with us," Addison asks and Sam nods.

Dean stands up, pulling Sam with him. "Okay. Come on. Come on. We gotta get the hell out dodge."

 _Addison laughs as she and Sam quickly make their way out of the bar. "Did you see the looks on those guys' faces," she asks, leaning against Sam's newly acquired Charger. "I thought for sure they were gonna kick your ass."_

 _"Hey, those guys wouldn't be able to touch me," Sam amusedly replies, moving closer to her. "How much did we make?"_

 _"A thousand. Hopefully, it'll last us a few weeks."_

 _"We've made it longer on a lot less."_

 _"That's true." It's then that she realizes how close they are standing. Her heart is hammering in her chest. "Sam." He pulls her into a kiss. It was different from all the other times they had kiss and she couldn't put her finger on it. His fingers dance over her sides before slipping under her shirt. His lips trails down her neck. Addison fumbles with the handle of the Charger before Sam pulls away. He reaches behind her and easily opens the door. Addison crawls into the backseat and he quickly joins hers. He easily undoes the buttons on her jeans and yanks them down, along with her panties._

Addison watches as Sam groans and rubs his forehead. She places a comforting hand on his back. They were leaning against the Impala, waiting for Dean to bring coffee and food. "How you feel," Dean asks, walking over to them.

"Like I got hit by a planet," Sam replies as Dean sets the coffee tray and paper bag down. Addison grabs the newspaper from under his arm.

"Well, lucky for you I'm a doctor. I got Joe, grub, and..."

Dean holds up a pill bottle. "What are they," Sam asks.

"Effective."

"I'm okay. Thanks."

Dean shrugs. "Suit yourself."

"So how long was I out again?"

"I'm telling you, like two or three minutes. Why, what'd it feel like to you?"

"About a week. Give or take."

"You wanna talk about it?"

"It?"

"Yeah, what that was. I mean, it was like you were fucking electrocuted."

The boys stare at each for a moment. "Look, I mean, it wasn't fun, but I'm fine," Sam says.

"Fine...It was Hell, wasn't it? You got a big fat face full of Hell. Ever cross your mind you could have died?"

"Oh, come on."

"I'm serious. And none of this 'it's just a flesh wound' shit. Cause we did it your way, we let you go explore, and every bad thing that I said would happen, happened. So guess what? Past stays past. We're not kicking that wall again."

"So I'm supposed to just ignore it?"

"Yes."

"Dean, I might have done who knows what. And you want me to just forget about it?"

"You shove it down and you let it come out in - in spurts of violence and alcoholism."

"That sounds healthy."

"Well, works for me. This is not a joke. Your life is on the line here, Sam. This is not a debate. I mean, first you were a soulless dickbag and now you're not. So we good?"

"Yeah. Sure."

"Good."

Addison clears her throat. "If you two are done having your chick flick moment, I believe we might have a case."

"What'd you got," Sam asks.

"A janitor was murdered in a college science lab last night. Doors were locked. No one was in or outside the building."

"Great. Where to?"

"Paterson, New Jersey."

"Maybe we'll have a Snooki sighting," Dean comments.

Sam frowns. "What's a Snooki?"

"This tiny, spray tanned creature with big hair that likes to get drunk and randomly hump things," Addison tells him before they climb into the Impala.

 _Addison pulls her bathrobe close as she finds Sam in the gun range early that morning. She shoots him a smile and leans against the divider, watching him. He finishes and sets his gun down on the counter before pulling against his chest. His lips crash down on hers as he sets her the counter. Her bathrobe falls open and his hands slide under the oversized t-shirt she was wearing. His fingers easily find her clit. Addison moans when he slides two fingers into her. Her hand clutches his bicep. Sam removes his hand and quickly unbuttons his jeans. He grips her hips and slams into her. Moans and grunts fill the gun range._

 _When they're finished, Addison slides off the counter. She pulls her bathrobe closed. "While I throughly enjoyed that, I wanted to talk to you," she nervously begins. Sam looks up from loading another clip into his gun. "Valentine's Day is next week. And I was thinking it would be nice to go have dinner. Like at Olive Garden or something."_

 _"Olive Garden," Sam amusedly repeats._

 _"Dude, unlimited breadsticks and salad. Anyway, I would like go to a nice dinner where we have to dress up. And I would like chocolates."_

 _The door to the gun range opens and they turn to see Samuel. "I need to talk to you," Samuel greets._

 _"What about," Sam asks, turning all business. Samuel glances at Addison and Sam sighs. He places a hand on Addison's back and leads her over to the door. "We'll talk later. I promise."_

 _Addison blinks as the door is closed in her face. Sam had been acting different for a while now. He was leaving her out of hunts, keeping things from her, and Addison couldn't be more suspicious._

Crime techs were still going over the science lab when the trio enters. "Check it out," Dean says, walking over a mannequin of the human body. "These things are fucking awesome." Dean pulls out of the heart and holds it out. "Be my Valentine?"

"Dude, we're working. Put it back," Sam tells him.

"I only accept hearts if they're made of chocolate," Addison says.

"Guys, have a heart," Dean replies.

"Dean," Sam says.

Dean chuckles. "Buzzkills." He frowns. "You smell sulfur?"

"We're in a science lab," Addison responds as a phone starts ringing. Dean pulls out his phone. "Who is it?"

Dean doesn't answer and Sam exchanges a look with Addison. "So Lisa," Sam asks.

"Maybe you should mind your own business," Dean tells Sam.

"What's wrong with just talking to her, Dean?"

"Thanks, Dr. Laura, that's very insightful. Look at that, our time's up." Addison pulls out the EMF meter and turns it on. It immediately lights up. "Ghost gone wild. Something's up in here."

"And the million dollar questions is: what," Addison replies. She turns it off and shoves in her pocket.

Dean looks around the room and spots a security camera. "Guys, good news. Big Brother's watching."

* * *

Dean's phone beeps causing Addison to look up from her laptop. They were sitting in the Impala waiting for Sam, who was talking to the janitor's girlfriend. She sighs as he ignores the text. "You should call her," Addison tells him.

Dean sighs. "Ads—"

"You both need closure, Dean. And the only you can get that is if you talk to her. So just call her."

The backdoor opens and Sam slides into backseat. "Hey. So, what'd you find out from the, uh, mop jockey's girlfriend," Dean asks, turning to look at Sam.

"Nothing. Just how great he was. Went to church. Donated to charity. Rubbed her feet during Glee," Sam tells them.

"I just threw up in my mouth."

"Sorry. Anyway, uh, checked his record, spotless. What about the science building anything?"

"It was built in 2005 on a patch of completely normal land," Addison says.

"Uh, before this, the biggest mishap was some genius accidentally spilled sulfuric acid on his crotch," Dean continues.

"Yeah. And if they dissect anything bigger than a frog, they use an iPad."

Sam scoffs. "So we got nothing?"

"Yeah, a big steaming pile of it," Dean replies, then starts the Impala.

* * *

The next day, they're at a factory where another murder had taken place. This one was a security guard in a secured building. A long pole was lying on the floor. The trio splits up and looks around the factory. Sam takes out the EMF meter and the signal goes off the charts near a cart of mannequin parts. "Guys," Sam calls and they join him. "This thing's humming."

"Weird," Addison comments.

"Wait. That anatomy dummy you were molesting at the lab."

"Excuse me," Dean asks.

"What if that's what this is about?"

"What exactly are you accusing me of?"

"I don't mean that. I mean, there was an anatomy dummy there. And here..." Sam trails off, motioning the mannequin.

Dean looks between the mannequin and Sam. "You're joking." The looks on Sam's and Addison's face cause him to turn back to the mannequin. "You're not joking. Okay, uh, so what, we've got a bunch of killer dolls like Chucky? I mean, come on, that's just...fucking creepy."

"Look, if ghosts can posses humans and move things, then why can't they posses inanimate objects," Addison asks.

"I supposed, but riddle me this, Batgirl, ghosts aren't exactly known for hopping county lines, right?"

"True."

"This one hits up a college and now a factory, what, three towns over?"

"Doesn't add up," Sam says.

"Then we dig," Addison replies.

Dean nods and motions to the other side of the factory floor. "Over there. I don't like the way Kim Cattrall's looking at me."

* * *

"Well, this dead guy's as squeaky clean as the last dead guy," Dean says as he enters the manager's office, where Sam and Addison were doing research on the latest victim and the factory. "I can't find a speck of dirt on him. You?"

Sam reaches for Addison's laptop, but she slaps his hand. "Nothing," he answers. "Ads, where did you get this?"

"Apple store," Addison responds. "All right. Found something. A seamstress named Rose Brown went missing over a year ago. Cops gave up on finding her. She was last seen at the factory, presumed dead, and she has a sister named Isabel."

"Fifty bucks, vengeful spirit," Dean says.

Addison closes her laptop and stands up. "I say we pay Isabel a visit."

Dean's phone starts ringing and Addison rolls her eyes. "Answer it," Sam tells him.

Dean stares at them, then stands up and reluctantly answers his phone. "Lisa? Ben? What are you...What are you talking about? Define 'bad.' All right, put her on the phone. Ben, get your mom and put her on the phone. All right, let me call you back. Five minutes." He turns to Sam and Addison, both of whom had curious looks on their faces. "It's Lisa. Ben says something's wrong."

"Then you should go and make sure everything's fine," Addison says.

"Oh, come on, guys. I can't just leave."

"Dude, you gotta leave," Sam tells him.

"But we're talking life or death here."

"And we can handle it for twenty-four hours. I get you wanna bury it, but I had to deal with my past year, you gotta deal with yours."

"Oh yeah and that worked so great for you."

"Dean, just go," Addison tells him. "Go and make sure they're okay." Dean stares at them, then turns and walks out of the office. She notices the look on Sam's face and rolls her eyes. "Let's go talk to Isabel."

* * *

"You and Rose were close, huh," Addison asks Isabel as she and Sam sit on the couch in the small apartment. During the ride over, Addison had ignored the looks that Sam had sent her. She knew what he wanted to talk about, but she wanted to ignore it.

"Very," Isabel replies. "Our parents died when we were little, so we had each other."

"What was Rose like?"

"Um, kind. Giving. She had the biggest heart. But people gave her a hard time."

Sam frowns. "How come?"

"She was shy. A little awkward. I guess that made her an easy target. I feel like I've been defending her my whole life."

"I'm sure she appreciated it."

"Well, it went both ways. She did more for me than anybody else ever could. I just miss her."

Addison motions to the photo album on the coffee table. "Can we?"

"Sure, please." Addison flips through the photo album filled with pictures of Rose and Isabel. She stops a picture that had two of the victims in it. "Um, that's the company Christmas party, a couple years back."

"You work at Salzman & Sons too," Sam asks.

"Well, everybody works at the factory. Yeah." Isabel taps on a woman wearing a red sweater in the picture. "And that's Rose."

* * *

Addison groans when Sam clears his throat after giving Dean update on the case. She knew this had been coming. "So, you're still in love with Dean, huh," Sam says as they walk down the street towards their stolen car.

"We are not talking about this," Addison replies.

"So we won't talk about how much it was killing you to tell Dean to go and talk to Lisa. I know you, Addison. You bury it and put on that happy face. But I know it's killing you inside."

"No, it's not. I'm over him."

"Really?"

"Yes! What part of that don't you understand, Sam?"

"Because Dean loves you and you obviously love him, but you're both to stubborn to admit it, Addison."

"If I was so in love with Dean, I wouldn't have spent a year fucking you," Addison angrily snaps. She shakes her head and quickly walks down the street.

* * *

After interviewing various factory workers, there was only one person that stood out. That night after the factory's closed, Sam and Addison make their way back to talk to Jonny once more. They find him in the locker room. A cut was on his forehead and a mannequin was standing nearby. Sam grabs him and they run into the break room. Sam and Addison get to work placing salt along the windows and doors. "What's going on," Jonny asks.

Sam tosses an old rag at him. "That was a ghost trying to kill you for being a dick."

"What?"

Addison spins around and glares at him. "You're lucky you gave the most suspicious interview of all time."

"I figured something like this would happen," Sam mutters.

"Figured something like what would happen," Jonny replies.

"Buddy, look, we don't have time for the big speech, all right? So brass tacks: Rose is back."

"That's crazy."

"Hey, you're gonna end up like your friends unless you tell us what you did to Rose," Addison says. Jonny nervously looks between them. "Do you want us to help you or not?"

"It was just a stupid joke. You know, I mean, you play jokes," Jonny tells them. "We didn't think it was that big of a deal."

"What did you do," Sam asks as he and Jonny sit down at the table.

"We made Rose think she had a secret admirer. I don't think the girl had ever been asked out in her life. Honestly, we just thought she was kind of pathetic. So we knew she'd take the bait. We even set up a fake date for her. She was so excited. Poor girl never saw it coming. It was mean. But you know how it is when a group of guys get together. They act like jackasses. It happened so fast. Steve grabbed her arm and she fell down, hit her head on the table. We didn't mean for it to happen. And then it was too late. Steve said there was only one option. I wish I could take it all back."

Sam nods. "I'm sure you do."

"I didn't kill her."

"Okay, look me in the eyes and tell me none of it's on you." Jonny avoids his gaze. "Look, I'm not saying you deserve to die."

"Really? Because I say we just let Rose kill him," Addison counters.

Sam shoots her a look, then turn back to Jonny. "We can help you."

"How," Jonny asks.

"You have to tell us where she's buried."

"In the woods. Uh, a clearing off of Canyon Run Road." Sam hops up from the table and Jonny does the same. "No, no, no. You're not going anywhere."

"But I—"

"You need to stay inside the salt line until I tell you you're safe."

Sam and Addison start out of the room. "You just want me to stand here all night," Jonny calls.

Addison turns back. "Consider it getting off easy, dick."

* * *

Addison shakes her head in disbelief as she pours salt on Rose's bones. "I hate this part of the job. The having to help the assholes part. And the digging part."

"He doesn't deserve to die, Ads," Sam replies.

"I know. But still, you can't exactly blame Rose for wanting to get some revenge."

Sam lights a matchbook before tossing into the grave. He pulls out his phone and calls Jonny. "All right. It's over, you're safe. But, Jonny, look at this as a new beginning. Lot of chances not to be a jackass."

Addison shifts. "I didn't mean to yell at you earlier. It's not fair to you. But I'm still trying to work through everything that happened last year. It's not easy. And it's gonna take me a while."

Sam nods. "Okay."

"The soulless dick big version of you was a master manipulator. And you're right. I do love Dean. I always have. I always will. But I also know that Dean and I will never get to that place where we can be together."

"Hey, uh, did we go to Olive Garden last year for Valentine's Day," Sam asks as they start towards their borrowed car.

"We did."

 _Addison smiles at the waiter as he sets a piece of cheesecake down in the middle of the table. It had been years since she had been as happy as she currently was. She had spent hours doing her hair and make up. She was wearing a red form fitting dress. "Ads, you know we're just friends, right," Sam says and she freezes. It felt like a bucket of ice water had been poured on her._

 _"I know that," Addison says, taking a bite of cheesecake. "I just wanted an excuse to get dressed up for a night. It's been years since I've gotten dressed up and pretend to be a normal person for a night. So, thank you for doing this."_

 _"It's no problem," Sam replies. His gaze roams over a waitress that walks past them. Addison stares at the cheesecake in front of her and sighs, trying to ignore the pit in her stomach._

Addison and Sam were at Isabel's apartment, searching through a box of Rose's belongings. They had been packing up to leave town when a call came over the police scanner. They had discovered that Jonny had been strangled the night before by a life sized doll in his apartment. "This is everything that was Rose's," Addison asks. The box hadn't been filled with much, just a few nicknacks and such.

"I gave most of her clothes to the Goodwill. She didn't have much," Isabel explains.

Sam motions to the chemistry books sitting on the table. "Those yours?"

"Yeah."

"Are you in school?" Isabel nods. "Where?"

"Uh, Great Falls."

Sam and Addison exchange a look. "So let me guess. Um, you were at the chem lab and the factory this week."

"Well, yeah."

"Did you pay a visit to a bar called McOwen's last night," Addison asks.

"Everybody from the factory goes there. I stop in maybe three times a week. Why?"

Sam stands up. "That's it. So this is all about you."

"What? What is?"

"The murders. Your co-workers. Your college janitor."

"What, you think I could do something like that?"

"No," Addison quickly says. "But you're at the center of it."

"Me? How?"

"Is there anything of Rose's that you wear all the time? Like a ring or a bracelet?" Isabel looks between the hunters. "It's important that we know. Do you have something of Rose's that you keep with you twenty-four seven?"

"Well, the only thing I have of hers is a part of me. When I was sixteen, she gave me one of her kidneys."

"Her kidney," Sam repeats.

"Yeah."

"You're kidding."

"Will you please tell me what this is about?"

"Of course," Addison replies, glancing at Sam. "But we're gonna need you to come with us."

* * *

Hearing the roar of the Impala, Sam and Addison climb out of the car they had borrowed without asking. They met Dean halfway in between the two cars. "That the girl with the haunted kidney," Dean asks.

"Yeah," Sam replies.

"Huh. Just when you think you've seen it all. What do you wanna do? We exactly can't burn the thing, I mean she kinda needs it."

"She can't walk around with it, Dean. The spirit's attached. It's gonna use her to get close to anyone it wants revenge on. It's not gonna stop killing."

"So what, you suggesting that we cut it out of her?"

"And then what? Leave her in a tub of ice with a phone taped to her hand?"

"We could call Dr. Robert," Addison suggests. "He could find a non-haunted replacement kidney."

Sam scoffs. "He works out of a butcher shop, Ads."

"It's pretty clean, you'd be surprised," Dean tells him.

"No. I think we have to go hoodoo."

"Hoodoo?"

"Well, that's not exactly a cure," Addison argues.

"It buys us a minute," Sam replies.

"All right. Louisiana it is," Dean says.

"Voodoo," Isabel asks and they turn to see her standing right behind them. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Actually, it's hoodoo, it's a little different."

"Hold on, Isabel," Sam tells her.

"You're not feds," Isabel states.

"Just let us explain."

The Impala's engine roars and they turn to look at the car. "No," Dean says. "No way."

"That's impossible," Isabel says.

Dean starts towards the Impala. "No, no, no. She possesses sex dolls. This is not a sex doll." The headlights on the Impala turn on. "Hey, you leave my baby alone. She's got nothing to do with this!"

The Impala moves towards them and they take off running. Sam ushers Isabel over to the stolen car with Addison right behind them while the Impala chases Dean. Sam and Addison run to help Dean just as the Impala crashes into an abandoned building. "You okay," Addison asks as he stands up.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm good. You guys," Dean answers, brushing glass off.

"Yeah," Sam answers while Addison nods.

They turn to Isabel. "Yeah, I'm..." Isabel spits up blood and they notice the glass shard sticking out of her abdomen. Isabel collapses and they crowd around her. After a couple of minutes, Isabel falls backwards. And the trio exchanges a look.

* * *

Sam holds out a beer as Dean climbs out from under the Impala's hood. They were back at Bobby's, taking a breather in between jobs. "How's it look," he asks.

"Well, considering she got carjacked by poltergeist, could be worse," Dean answers. "What exactly did we do back there, Sam?"

"Yeah, I'm not putting it in the win column either."

"We saved a few dicks and we killed an innocent girl. I got a heartbroken kid and a woman who's so pissed at me...I see what you mean about facing your past. It's, uh, it's awesome. Thanks."

"Dean—"

"I mean, all we do is make a mess."

"That's not true. We do save lives, now and again."

"Yeah, I guess. I'm just - I'm just tired of the all the bad luck, you know?"

"Well, you know, number one, bad luck is kind of in the job description. And two, it's not all bad. Really. Look at me. I mean, at least Satan's left the building."

"Yeah. It's the little things."

"And I have a soul, because of you. I never thanked you for that, did I?"

"That's all good, man."

"Well, thanks."

"You'd have done the same for me."

"I mean it. Look, we keep out heads down, keep swinging. We'll lose some, hopefully, we'll win more. And...I don't know. Anyway, for what it's worth...I got your back."

"Yeah, I know." Dean clears his throat. "Where's Ads?"

"Said that she was going to have lunch with Patrick."

Dean shakes his head and turns back to the Impala. "I don't trust him."

"Same here. But there's nothing we can do unless you want Addison pissed off at you. Besides if having a relationship with her father makes her happy, then we at least owe it to her give him a chance."

* * *

Patrick watches as his daughter takes a bite of apple pie. The fact that she had called him out of the blue and asked to meet him had caught him off guard. But he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. "So, a haunted kidney," he asks, leaning back in the booth.

"Yeah. The poor girl ended up dying because her sister's ghost possessed Dean's car and it crashed into a building. It just really sucks when the people that deserved to be saved, we can't save them."

"That's the worst part of the job. How's Sam doing with the wall in his head?"

"He remembers some stuff. Dean keeps telling him not to mess with it, but Sam doesn't listen." Addison shifts. "I feel like it's my fault. I mean if I had just called Dean to tell him Sam was alive, then Sam's soul wouldn't have spent over a year in that cage."

Patrick leans forward and grab's her hand. "Addison, you can't beat yourself over that."

"Yeah. When you said you were listening to an angel and you found out too late, what did you mean?"

Patrick sighs. "You want the whole story?"

"Yes."


	15. The French Mistake

Chapter 15 - The French Mistake

It was a torrential downpour outside. Which was a perfect reason to be hold up in Bobby's house and attempting to get some researching done. "Where's Bobby and Ads," Sam asks, reentering the living room from the kitchen.

"In town, supply run," Dean answers, from where he was sitting behind the desk.

Sam looks out the window. "In this?"

"Yeah, they're heroes." Dean picks up the empty whiskey bottle. "We were officially out of hunter's helper."

"Hello, boys." They turn to see Balthazar enter the room. "You've seen The Godfather, right?"

"Balthazar?"

"You know, the end, where Michael Corleone sends his men to kill his enemies in one big, bloody swoop," Balthazar continues, paying no attention to them. He grabs an empty bowl and pours some salt in it.

"Hey!"

"Dead sea brine. Good, good, good. You know, Moe Greene gets it in the eye and Don Cuneo gets it in the revolving door?"

Dean stands up. "I said 'hey.'"

Balthazar finally glances at him. "You did. Twice. Good for you. Blood of lamb. Blood of lamb." The angel vanishes and the brothers turn to find him searching the fridge. "Beer, cold pizza. Blood of lamb. Yes! Blood of lamb!"

"Why are you talking about The Godfather," Sam questions as Balthazar grabs the jar and reappears back into the living room.

"Because we're in it - right now. Tonight. And in the role of Michael Corleone - the archangel Raphael."

"You mind telling us what you mean," Dean asks, clearly annoyed.

The angel pours the blood into a bowl, then starts pulling out of the drawers of Bobby's desk. "No, no, no, no. No, no, no, no." He pulls open another drawer and grins, pulling out a bone. "Yes. Bone of a lesser saint. This vertebra will do very nicely. Your Mr. Singer does keep a beautiful pantry."

"Wait, Raphael is after you?"

"Raphael is after us all. You see, he's consolidated his strength. And now he's on the move."

"And where's Cas," Sam asks the angel.

"Oh, Cassie. He is deep, deep underground. So, good old Raphie put out a hit list on every last samaritan who helped our dear Cas - including both of you. And so much more importantly, me. See, he wants to draw Cas out in the open."

"And you expect us to just believe you?"

"Oh, don't. You'll go where I throw you either way."

Dean frowns as the lights flicker. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"And that's all the time we have, gentlemen," Balthazar tells him. He opens his jacket and reveals a bloodstain on his right side. "Where is it?"

"Whoa. What happened there?"

Balthazar glances at the bloodstain. "Oh. Garish, I know. You see, Uncle Raphie sent one of his nastiest to handle me. I'm flattered, actually. And down a lung at the moment, but that's all right." Balthazar pulls out a set of keys and hands them to Sam. "Oh, here's for you."

Sam holds up the keys. "What am I supposed to do with this?"

"Run with it." Suddenly, Balthazar flies across the room as another angel appears in the room. "Virgil." Balthazar turns to Dean and Sam. "I said run!" He holds up a hand and they go flying through the window. They expected to land on the hard muddy ground outside of Bobby's house. Not on a mattress in front of people sitting around a bay of TV monitors. Dean and Sam look at each other, clearly confused.

"So no angels," Sam asks.

"No angels, I think."

"Should we be killing anybody?"

"I don't think so."

"Running?"

"Where?"

Sam picks up a piece of the window. Instead of being glass, it was a piece of clear rubber. "That's a wrap on Jared and Jensen," a man announces into a walkie talkie.

Sam exchanges a confused look with Dean. "Who the hell are-" A woman comes up and grabs Sam's off, pulling him away.

Dean follows him. "Where are we going," he asks.

Another woman walks up to Dean and grabs his arm. "Jensen, there you are. Let's just get you in the chair." The woman shoves him over to a brightly lit table and pushes him into a chair. "Okay, hon, we're just gonna get this makeup off your face."

The woman grabs a wipe and starts wiping his face until Dean moves away. "Whoa, I'm not wearing any make..." He trails off seeing the makeup on the wipe. "Oh, fuck. I'm a painted whore."

* * *

After managing his escape from the makeup person, Dean finds Sam on the other side of the sound stage. "Dude, they put fucking makeup on us. Those bastards," Dean tells him.

"Look, I think I know what this is," Sam replies.

"Okay. What?"

"It's a TV show."

Dean stares at him disbelief. "You think?"

"Wait, I mean, here, wherever here is, this Twilight Zone Balthazar zapped us into. For whatever reason our life is a TV show."

"Why?"

"I don't know."

"No seriously, why would anybody wanna watch our lives?"

"Well, I mean, according to the interviewer, not very many people do. Look, I'm not saying it makes sense. I'm just saying, we landed in some dimension where you're Jensen Ackles and I'm something called a Jared Padalecki."

"Oh, so, what, now you're Polish? Is any of this making any sense to you," Dean asks as they walk out of the sound stage. He lets out a relived sigh seeing the Impala parked next to a food truck. "Oh. Hey, at least my baby made it." He frowns when someone starts throwing mud on the windshield. "Hey. Hey, what—" He stops when he notices the other Impalas in the parking lot, including a couple of beat up ones. "I feel sick. I'm gonna be sick." Dean walks away and Sam quickly runs after him. "I wanna go home. I feel like this whole is bad touching me."

"Yeah, I know. Me too. So, what do you think? Cas?"

"It's our best shot, if he's still alive." They stop and Dean closes his eyes. "Dear Castiel, who art maybe running his ass away from Heaven we pray that you have your ears on. So breaker, breaker." Dean opens his eyes and Sam stares back. They look around and find Castiel standing a few feet away. They run over to him. "Cas. Hey. Oh, thank God. What is all this? What did Balthazar do to us?"

"To keep you out of Virgil's reach, he's cast you into an alternate reality; a universe similar to ours in most respects yet dramatically different in others," Castiel explains.

"Like Bizarro Earth, right? Except instead of having Bizarro Superman we get this clown factory."

"Um...yeah, well...anyway, no time to explain. Do you have the key?"

"Yeah," Sam replies, pulling the key out of his pocket and hands it Cas. "So, what does this thing do anyway?"

"It opens a room."

"What's in the room," Dean asks.

"Every weapon Balthazar stole from Heaven."

"He gave it to us?"

"To keep it safe, till I could reach you. With those weapons, I have a chance to rally my forces."

"Oh, okay, good. Yeah. So now, what's the deal with all this TV shit," Sam asks.

Castiel frowns. "Pardon?"

"Amen, Padaleski," Dean says.

"Lecki," Sam corrects.

"What?"

"Lecki. I'm pretty sure."

"Man, they put out new pages," Castiel complains, digging through his pockets out and pulling out a thin packet of paper.

Dean frowns. "New what?"

"Is this a cosmic joke," Sam asks.

"If it is, it's stupid and we don't get it."

"Yeah."

"Are you guys okay," Castiel asks, pulling off his tie.

"Give me that," Dean replies, ripping the papers out his hand. "What is - These are words in a script. This isn't Cas."

"But look at him," Sam argues.

Not Castiel looks between the brothers. "You guys wanna run lines or..."

"His name is Misha," Dean says. "Misha?"

Sam grabs the key from Misha. "Oh, wow, just great."

Dean tosses the pages at him and they walk away. "Misha? Jensen? What's up the names around here?"

"Oh. You guys, you really punked me," Misha calls.

The boys stop when they see a familiar figure walking towards them. Dean walks over to her and tightly embraces her. "Thank God Balthazar sent you here too, Ads. And you have your hair back."

"Are we running lines, Jensen," Addison replies. Dean steps back and stares at her. She stares back, eyebrow raised.

The boys walk around her and continue down the backlot. "I wanna dig my finger into my brain and scratch it till we're back in Kansas," Dean says.

"Hey," Sam says, pointing to a very large camper. "J. Ackles."

"That's fake me."

"Yeah."

"This must be fake mine." The boys enter the trailer and find a large fish tank by the wall. A toy helicopter was sitting on a table while a large flat screen was hanging on the wall above a faux fireplace. "Dude, I have a helicopter."

"All right, who puts a 300 gallon aquarium in their trailer?"

"Apparently, Jensen Ackles."

"Huh. All right. Here we go. Let's see who this guy is," Sam says, sitting down at the table where a laptop was open.

"Well, he's not a hunter, but he plays one on TV," Dean replies, walking around the trailer. "Oh, come on." He picks up a magazine off the coffee table. "Look at these male modeling sons of bitches. Nice blue steel, Sam."

"Hey, apparently it's our job. All right. Here it goes. Says you're from Texas."

"Really?"

"Yeah. And, uh...Oh. Says you were on a soap opera."

Dean frowns. "What?" Sam motions to the computer and Dean walks over. They watch the clip for a few seconds before Dean slams the laptop shut. "I don't like this universe, Sammy. We need to get out of this."

"Yeah. No argument here. But I don't think our prayers are reaching Cas. Or the real Cas."

"Well, I agree. I think we are definitely out of soul phone range but..." Dean grabs a legal pad off the coffee table. "If we can reverse Balthazar's spell. I watched every move. If we just get the ingredients, right? Get back to that same window and..." Dean holds up the drawing of the sigil Balthazar had drawn on the window. "There's no place like home."

The trailer door opens and Not-Addison enters. She looks between the boys. "Not that I'm not thrilled that you guys are getting along, but what exactly is going on," she asks. "And do not lie to me. I'll know. I have two kids."

The boys exchange a look. "We're just going over lines," Dean lies.

"Bullshit." She crosses her arms and gives them both a stern look. "Tell me the truth."

Sam sighs. "I'm Sam Winchester and this is my brother, Dean. And we were sent here by Balthazar."

She looks between them, then nods. "Okay."

Dean frowns. "That's it. 'Okay?'"

"Yeah, why?"

The boys exchange a look. Dean shakes his head. "Nothing."

She grins. "Great. My name's Colette, but everyone calls me Cole. So, how are we going to get you boys back to your universe?"

* * *

"Backbone of a lesser saint. Got it," Sam says, pulling out a bone from the desk on the set that look exactly like Bobby's study. "Uh...it's rubber."

Dean holds up a knife. "Check this out." He bends the knife, showing that it too was made of rubber. He grabs another fake knife and stabs Sam with the fake knife. "Hey. Look, it's fake. It's all fake."

"Well, yeah, it's fake. It's a TV show," Colette says, walking onto the set. She grabs the fake knife and tosses it onto the desk.

"What are we supposed to do with all this shit?"

"We gotta get back to the real world," Sam says.

"Yeah, now you're talking," Dean replies and the boys walk out of sound stage.

Colette follows them and then stands back as they get into the Impala. Dean starts the car and they drive down the backlot. "All right, we go round up the genuine articles and bring them here for the spell," Dean says. The engine screeches. "What the fuck is going on? What is wrong with this thing?"

A tapping comes from the window. "Mr. Ackles, please." They look out the window and find a man. "Mr. Ackles, please stop."

"It's not the Impala," Sam says.

Dean glares at him. "Ya think? It's a fucking prop. Just like everything else."

Dean stops the Impala and the boys climb out. "Thank you. Thank you so much," the PA says.

"How the hell are we supposed to get out of here?"

* * *

The way out off the backlot was via a black SUV driven by a man named Cliff. Dean and Sam were sitting in the two middle seats while Colette was sitting on the back bench seat. "You know whereabouts you want me to drop you off," Cliff asks. The boys exchange a look. "Jensen?"

"Me? Yes, uh...I - I'll just tag along with, uh..." Dean trails off.

"Jared," Sam quietly supplies.

"Jared here."

"I'm going to tag along the boys too," Colette says.

"Since when are you guys talking," Clif asks.

"Yeah, you know what, Clint," Sam begins.

"Cliff."

"Yeah. Yeah, of course. Cliff, obviously. Um, so I think we're gonna go back to my place and do some work."

"Work on our acting," Dean adds.

"Yeah."

"For our characters. For the show."

"Mmm hmm. Yeah."

Cliff laughs. "All right."

"Where the hell are we anyway," Dean asks, looking out the window. He blinks seeing the sign that says 'Welcome to Vancouver.' "Dude, we're not even in America."

Colette clears her throat and leans forward. "Welcome to Canada. And if either of you make me say 'aboot' I will hit you."

* * *

Jared's place turned out to be a large mansion. "Nice modest digs, Jay-Z," Dean comments as they enter the sitting room. Plants were scattered around the room. A couch sat in front of a large fireplace.

"Wow. I must be the star of this thing," Sam replies.

"I think to think of it as more equal between all of us," Colette argues. "Through they do give you first billing in the credits.

"Check it out," Dean says, motioning to a tanning bed.

Sam frowns. "What am I, Dracula?"

Dean walks over and opens the tanning bed. "George Hamilton Dracula." He notices the bar on the other side of the room. "Oh. Now we're talking." A bizarre noise comes from outside and Dean looks out the window. "Dude, you have a camel in your backyard."

"It's an alpaca, dumbass." They turn around to see Ruby standing at the top of the stairs.

"Ruby," Dean disbelievingly asks and Colette sighs. Ruby rolls her eyes and makes her way down the stairs. The boys exchange a look.

"Ruby. Right. Because that one never gets old. How was work today, hon?" Ruby leans up and kisses Sam. "Hi, Cole."

"Hi, Gen," Colette warmly replies.

Dean clears his throat. "Wait, you and Ruby?"

Sam shrugs. "Do you honestly think that's funny, Jensen," Genevieve argues.

"Right. Right. Because you're not Ruby. You...I mean, how could you be? You...of course, you are the lovely actress who plays Ruby. And you are in Jared's house because you two are..."

"Married," Colette coughs.

"Married," Dean repeats. "You married fake Ruby?"

"What are you doing," Genevieve asks, looking between the three of them.

"Work," Sam blurts out. "Work."

"Yeah. Colette and I just thought we'd pop in. Say hey," Dean says. "Hey. And, uh, may - maybe - maybe run some lines."

Genevieve narrows her gaze. "You've never even been to our house."

"Well, now that I know there's an alpaca out back, I'm definitely coming back."

"Well, alpacas are the greenest animal."

"Right. Right. That is so important."

"Well, there's that thing I have to get to."

"Oh, yeah, of course. Yeah, the thing..." Sam trails off.

"The International Otter Adoption charity dinner," Genevieve supplies. Sam unconvincingly nods. "Okay, well." Genevieve pulls Sam into a kiss. "Well, I'm glad you two are talking, anyway."

The moment Genevieve is out the door, Dean turns to Colette. "You couldn't have helped us out?"

"I think you two did fine on your own," Colette answers.

Dean glares, then turns to Sam. "Well, looks like you did all right."

Sam laughs. "Yeah. Yeah. I should figure out her name."

"Genevieve. Or Gen," Colette tells him with a smile.

* * *

Dean opens his eyes when he feels someone watching him. He opens his eyes and finds Colette perched on the coffee table. The boys had spent part of the night buying everything the needed for the spell. "Why is that you're afraid of being in a real relationship with Addison," she asks.

"Look, just because you play her on TV doesn't mean you know a damn thing about her," Dean snaps.

"Okay, you have me there. But if she's anything like what's written in the scripts, then why are you afraid of being in an actual relationship with her?"

Dean sits up and faces her. "Why do you believe us?"

"Well, you are either telling me the truth, which means that the parallel universe theory is true. And if that's the case, it's pretty cool. Or you're both in the midst of a metal breakdown and I want to make sure neither of you do something to hurt yourselves. Why are you afraid—"

"I'm not afraid. You know what, I don't have to tell you a damn thing."

Colette shrugs. "Then you can listen to my theory. I believe you'd rather be nothing more than friends or fuck buddies with Addison because if you try an actual relationship and it goes bad, then you're worried that she'll want nothing more to do with you."

"What are you? Some kind of shrink on the side?"

"My mother's a psychologist. My dad's a astrophysicist."

Dean scoffs. "You're parents must be proud that you're an actress."

"They love it. They're more disappointed in my older brother since he decided to go into politics. And yes, they are very free spirited. Dean, from what I understand, hunters have limited life span. Why not just take the risk? If Addison hasn't permanently left by now, I doubt she will. Especially after all the heartbreak she's gone through."

"Don't you got a family or something?"

"I do. And they are currently visiting their grandparents in Montreal with my husband. Maybe if you take the risk of being with her, you may find yourself happy." Colette grabs her jacket and stands up. "If I don't see you tomorrow, then goodbye. If I do see you tomorrow, then goodnight." Dean watches as Colette walks out of the room, then runs a hand over his face.

* * *

After spending the morning picking up packages the airport, the boys make their way back to the sound stage and onto the set of Bobby's living room. The lights turn on and the boys look around in confusion. "Whoa, what? No, no," Dean says.

"What is this," a balding older man asks, walking onto the set. "Here for the first run through before anyone else? Dedication."

"Can I talk to you for a second? Um..." Dean trails off as Sam grabs the supplies and quickly makes his way off set. "We're gonna need the set cleared for, safe side, an hour or so."

"You need it cleared?"

"Yeah. Yeah, me and Jared, we're gonna do some actor stuff."

"Jensen, we're thrilled to see you collaborating so creatively. And your enthusiasm is refreshing. You know, Dean Cain was like that on Lois. And that man's a real actor. And we will clear this set exactly when we shoot the two and three-eighths pages we are scheduled to shoot on this set. So you do your actor stuff and we'll do our camera stuff and..." Dean nods and walks away.

Sam was sitting off to the side with the supplies in an empty chair next to him. "Oh, priority, what's in it," Misha asks as he and Colette sit down in the empty chairs behind Sam.

"I bought part of a dead person," Sam answers.

Colette spits out her coffee and stares. "Oh. Cool," Misha replies.

"Uh, so bad news," Dean says, joining them. "Uh, looks like we're gonna have to do a little acting."

Sam stares in disbelief. "What?"

* * *

"Maybe we did it wrong," Sam says as he and Dean enter Jensen's trailer. After trying to do some acting, they had finally managed to do the spell and had been unsuccessful.

"No," Dean replies, sitting down at the table. "No, that spell was perfect. It should have worked."

"What if it can't?" Dean looks up at Sam. "Look, I was up all night, looking online. There's no sign that anything like the apocalypse happened here. Ever. And as far as I can tell, monsters, ghosts, demons...they're all pretend."

"So nobody is hunting them?"

"No hunters. Look, maybe that's why our spell didn't work, Dean. You know, maybe here, there's no supernatural, no magic."

"No demons, no Hell, no Heaven. No God?"

Sam shrugs. "Something like. Even better: no angels." Dean frowns and looks out the window.

* * *

"Look maybe we can't get out of Earth number two right now but the least we can do is get out of the Canadian part of it," Dean says as he and Sam walk through part of the soundstage. "If I hear one more conversation about hockey, I'm gonna puke."

"Hey, do not diss our national sport," Colette says, walking up behind them. Dean glances at her and she smiles. "So, how goes the trying to get back to your universe?" Dean glares. "Not good, huh."

The boys stop and look around the set of a sewer. "This way," Sam says, going down a fake tunnel.

"This way," Dean counters, going forward.

"Actually, it's this way," Colette announces, motioning down the other fake tunnel.

Sam walks back into the main tunnel. "No, I really think that we should..." He freezes when he sees a figure in the tunnel. "Dean!"

Dean stops and freezes when he sees Virgil standing in front of him. "You really think you can run," the angel coldly asks. Virgil places a hand on Dean's forehead, but nothing happens.

Dean smirks. "Sorry, dude. Mojo free zone." He punches the angel as Sam joins him.

"No magic in the house," Sam says as they walk up onto the fake tunnel's platform.

"Which makes you nothing but a dick."

Dean punches Virgil once more. A fight ensues between the brothers and the angel. "What are you doing," Colette shouts, staring wide eyed.

Crew members rush over and pull the brothers off of Virgil. "No, no, no. Stop. You don't understand," Sam tells them. "No, no! You are dead, Virgil!"

Neither of the boys notice Virgil reaching into Sam's pocket and grabbing the key. "We'll break your fucking neck," Dean shouts as the angel runs away.

"Die!"

Seeing that there was no way they'd be able to catch Virgil, the brothers stop struggling and the crew members release them. The walk off, unaware of the looks the crew members and Colette were exchanging.

"Virgil broke through, maybe he's got a way to get back," Dean says as he and Sam walk onto an abandoned house set.

"Or he has no juice here and now he's stuck, like us," Sam counters.

"Yeah. Either way, I wanna finish kicking his ass."

* * *

The boys jump as they walk onto the set of Bobby's den and a light turns on. Sitting behind Bobby's desk was the balding older man. "There you are, guys. You got a minute," he asks, looking between the two of them.

"Actually, we're looking for—" Sam begins.

"That extra you tried to kill," the man interrupts. The boys stare at him. "So is it money? Is this the kind of act that goes way if we can scare up some coverage on a raise?"

"More money? You already pay these two jokers enough as it is," Dean argues.

"Cause I'd like to think that over these years we've grown closer. That you don't think of me as Director Bob or Executive Producer Bob Singer. But as Uncle Bob."

The boys exchange a confused look. Sam frowns. "Wait, you're kidding. So the character in the show, Bobby Singer—"

"What kind of a douchebag names a character after himself," Dean questions.

"Oh, that's not right."

"Okay, guys, let's begin again," Bob says. The boys turn around and walk away.

"You know, I don't think Virgil would have shagged out of here without getting his mitts on that key," Dean quietly says.

Sam nods. "Yeah. Yeah, I agree." He taps his pockets.

Hands grasp their shoulder and they look at Bob. "Guys. You can't come to work on poppers. And smuggle kidneys in from Mexico. And make up your own lines as you go. You cannot make up your own lines. Good God, what about your careers?"

"You know what? Screw our careers, Bob," Sam tells him, while searching his pockets.

Bob stares. "What?"

Sam walks off. Dean glares at Bob. "You heard my brother. That's right, I said brother. Because you know what, Bob? We're not actors. We're hunters. We're the Winchesters. Always have been and always will be. And where we're from, people don't know who we are. But you know what? We matter in that world. In fact, we even saved a son of a bitch once or twice. And yeah, okay, here, maybe there's some fans who give a crap about this nonsense."

"I wouldn't call it 'nonsense.'"

"But, Bob Singer, if that even is your name, tell me this. What does it all mean?"

Bob nods. "Okay. This is good. I mean, we've all had our psychotic breaks, right? I can work with this."

"Dean," Sam says, walking back over them. "Virgil. I think he has the key."

Dean frowns. He turns back to Bob. "We quit."

"Yeah," Sam says, then they run off leaving a shocked executive producer.

* * *

"You know that if we drop Virgil, get the key, I mean, this might be it. We might stuck here," Dean says. After checking out the crime scene where the fake Castiel had been murdered by Virgil and talking to a homeless that happened to witness it, the boys had made their way back to the set.

"No, we'll figure out a way back," Sam replies.

Dean shrugs. "Yeah, you wouldn't be that broke up if we didn't, though."

Sam frowns. "What? Don't be stupid."

"Well, I'm just saying, no Hell below us, above us only sky."

"Dean, our friends are back there."

Dean nods. "Yeah, but here, you got a pretty good life. I mean, back home, the hits have been coming since you were six months old. You gotta admit, being a bazillionaire, married to Ruby? The whole package. It's no contest."

Sam's silent for a moment. "No, you know, you were right. We just don't mean the same thing here. I mean, we're not even brothers here, man."

"All right, then. Let's get our crazy show back home."

* * *

The boys exchange a look when they hear gunfire. "Showtime," Dean says as they get ready.

Sam nods and runs off the set. He finds Virgil shooting members of the crew. "Hey," he shouts. Virgil turns and fires at him. Dean runs over and tackles the angel. They fall onto the set of a motel room. The hunter and the angel fight. Sam runs onto the set and blocks a punch that Virgil throws. The hunter easily knocks the angel down. Dean and Sam quickly search his pockets. Dean punches the angel a couple more times as Sam pulls out the key. "Dean, got it." The fake window behind them starts vibrating and they exchange a look. "Raphael. Run!"

They start to run forward, but a force grips them and yanks them backward. They land on the ground outside a motel. They look up to see an African American woman in a power suit walking towards them. "You two have the strangest luck," Raphael says.

"Raphael," Dean asks. "Nice meat suit. Dude looks like a lady."

Raphael holds up a fist and the boys double over in pain. "The key." Sam drops the key and the angel picks it up.

"And that will open you a locker at the Albany bus station," Balthazar says, appearing behind Raphael.

"Really?"

"You see, I needed a modest decoy to make it more convincing."

"Give me the weapons."

"Sorry, darling. They're gone."

"What?"

"I said, too bloody late. You see, they were so well hidden that I needed time to find them. So I volunteered these two marmosets for a game of fetch with Virgil. You two were such an adequate stick. Thank you. Thank you, boys."

"You've made your last mistake."

"I've got a few more up my sleeve, honey."

Raphael starts to Balthazar. "Step away from him, Raphael," Castiel orders, after appearing in the parking lot. "I have the weapons now. Their power is with me." Castiel flashes his wings.

"Castiel," Raphael says.

"If you don't want to die tonight, back off."

Raphael stares at Castiel for a second, then vanishes. "Well, Cas, now that you have your sword, try not to die by it," Balthazar says, then flies off.

"Cas, what the hell," Sam asks as Castiel walks over to them. The angel places his hands on their shoulders and they're instantly back in Bobby's living room. The wall was missing and it was pouring down outside. "Wait. Wait, you were in on this? Using us as a diversion?"

"It was Balthazar's plan," Castiel tells them. "I would have done the same thing."

"That's not comforting, Cas," Dean replies.

"When will I be able to make you understand? If I lose against Raphael, we all lose everything."

"Yeah, Cas, we know the stakes. That's about all you've told us."

The two friends stare at the each other, then Castiel looks away. "I'm sorry about all this. I'll explain when I can."

Castiel disappears, leaving the brothers in the house. "Fucking angels," Dean mutters.

Sam walks over and taps the wall. He lets out a relived breath. "Solid. It's real."

"Nice."

"Yeah. Yeah. Real, moldy, termite eaten home sweet home. Chock full of shit that wanna skin you. Oh, and, uh, we're broke again."

"Yeah. But hey, at least we're talking."

Dean shakes his head in disbelief. Footsteps and a slamming door cause them to turn as Bobby and Addison enter the house. The brothers exchange a look while the other hunters stare in confusion.


	16. And Then There Were None

Chapter 16 - ...And Then There Were None

Addison yawns as she enters Bobby's study and finds the guys were standing around his desk, looking at a map. Red circles had been drawn along one of the interstate routes. "I've been getting blasts from hunters all week," Bobby tells them. "Nest of vamps. Werewolf dance party. Shifters, six of them. Two hunters died taking them out. Ghouls, ghouls. Ghoul-wraith smorgasbord."

Addison frowns. "Isn't that a line right down I-80?"

"Exactly."

"Looks to me like it's a Sherman March monster mash," Dean comments, standing straight.

"Yeah, but where are they marching to," Sam questions, looking at each of them. Bobby circles another city on the map. "What is it?"

"Guy bashes in his family's heads," Bobby answers. The trio exchanges knowing looks.

* * *

"So, demon possession or ghosts," Dean asks, as he, Sam, and Bobby join Addison in the squad room. She had taken up the task of searching the video from a local truck stop while they talked to the man who had murdered his wife and had no memory of it. Dean moves directly behind her while Bobby and Sam stand next to the desk she was at. "I thought this was a monster thing."

Addison shrugs as she finally finds the trucker on the screen. "That's him, right," she asks as the guys crowd around.

"Yeah."

"This is from the night that he killed his family."

She presses play and they watch as a young woman approaches the trucker. "Hmm. Hello." The screen scrambles and she pauses it before rewinding, second by second. One second the young woman looks at the screen, her face normal. The next, it was hollow and disfigured. "Freakish nightmare. What the hell is that?"

"Bobby," Sam asks, turning to the older hunter.

"I've never seen that in my life. All those vamps and ghouls out on I-80...maybe they're coming in for Mother's Day," Bobby replies.

"Um...okay, well, if that is big mama - whatever she is, we got zero on ganking her," Dean says. "So, what are we gonna do if we run into her? Throw salt and hope."

"I say we run in the opposite direction," Addison says, leaning back in the chair. "It's our safest bet right now."

"Well, we better get some real info on this bitch before we do run into her."

Suddenly, a group of police officers gather their gear and run out of the station. "What's the ruckus," Bobby asks one of the officers.

"A guy just went postal down at the cannery," the officer answers, then runs out of the station.

Bobby turns to the trio. "Okay, I'll go. You finish here."

* * *

Later that night, the trio are outside the cannery, preparing to search it when Bobby pulls up with Rufus. Dean slams the Impala's trunk shut as the older hunters climb out of the car. "I don't even know why you have a driver's license," Rufus complains.

"Well, look what the cat dragged in," Dean comments.

"It is really good to see you, Rufus," Sam greets, shaking Rufus' hand.

"I can believe it. It must get old, dealing with this miserable cuss here all by yourselves."

Sam laughs. "Is it that obvious?"

"Why don't you three get a room," Bobby snaps.

"All right. We all pack a snack," Dean asks. They all nod. "Let's see what we can see."

The group searches the cannery, but doesn't find anything on the lower levels. A few floors up, they hear a clanking sound. They each pull out a gun and aim it at the door. A woman comes up and jumps. "Gwen," Dean asks.

"Dean," Gwen Campbell replies.

Dean tenses when he sees a familiar figure through the window on the door. He storms past Gwen and down the hallway with the others right on his tail. He cocks his gun and aims it at Samuel. "Welcome to next time," he coldly says.

Sam runs in front of Dean and pushes him back. "No, no, no, hold on."

"I said I'd kill him."

"Just a second."

"I take it you know each other," Rufus says.

"He's our grandfather," Dean answers.

"Oh, somebody needs a hug."

"Why are you here," Bobby questions.

"We're working. You," Samuel replies.

"None of your fucking business," Dean snaps.

"Sam, Addison, take Dean for a walk," Bobby orders.

"You gotta be kidding me."

"Look, Dean, it's fine," Sam tells him.

"How?"

"C'mon," Addison says, pushing him out of the room.

Dean turns to them once they're out of the room. "What is wrong with you?"

"Look, maybe he knows something," Sam replies.

"You don't remember what he did. I do."

"I'm not saying don't, I'm saying not yet."

Dean stares at them for a moment, then turns and walks away. Addison sighs and exchanges a look with Sam before they reenter the room. "So you're Samuel," Bobby says.

"You must be the guy pretending to be their father," Samuel counters.

"Well, somebody ought to."

Samuel looks at Sam. "Sam. You're looking well."

"Save the small talk, all right," Sam replies.

"You seem different."

"I got my soul back. No thanks to you, I hear."

"You hear? You don't remember?"

"I remember enough."

"I, um, I really hate to break up this little circle of love buy why don't we talk shop, huh? How about you tell us what it is you're hunting," Rufus asks.

Samuel glances at Gwen. "Creature from Purgatory. She calls herself Eve."

"Eve," Sam asks.

"Yup, but they call her Mother. She was here about ten thousand years ago. Every freak that walks the face of the Earth can be traced back to her. And she's back."

Bobby frowns. "How the hell do you know all that?

"You don't know half the things I know, kid. Until recently, you didn't know about us."

"I know that you'd throw your own kin to hungry ghouls. I think I know enough."

Gwen turns to Samuel. "You what?"

"Dean lied to the man."

"That's such bullshit," Addison snaps. She looks at Gwen. "Samuel lead us into a trap and knowingly allowed a bunch of demons to lock some hungry ghouls in the same room as us."

"Don't listen to her."

Addison scoffs. "Like we should listen to you."

Bobby looks at Gwen. "Ask Dean."

"Good idea," Gwen replies, then walks out of the room. The group stands there, then a couple of minutes later a gunshot rings out. They run out of the room and find Gwen lying on the ground, bleeding from a wound in her chest.

"See if you can plug that hole up, Bobby," Rufus says. But it was too late, Gwen was gone. Sam takes off, searching for Dean.

"Damn it," Samuel comments.

Bobby looks at him. "I'm sorry. If you care."

"Fuck you. I care."

Sam runs back over to them, out of breath. "Is she, uh..."

"Where's Dean," Addison asks.

"I couldn't find him. Whatever got into those guys must've got into Dean."

"Rufus, help Samuel move her somewhere," Bobby orders. "The rest of us will lock down here. We're gonna wanna find Dean before he finds us."

"We're gonna find him alive, Samuel, or I'm gonna put a bullet into your head," Sam warns.

With that, the group splits up and searches the building. Sam, Addison, and Bobby lock the door leading to the security control room while Rufus and Samuel place Gwen's body in a cold storage room. The hunters search the cannery, but don't find a trace of Dean. Sam takes out his phone and calls Dean. Shouting from another room causes them to take off. They enter to find Dean and Rufus with their guns drawn while Samuel stood off to the side, with his own gun drawn. "Hey, hey, hey. Okay both of you," Bobby says.

"Both of us, my ass," Rufus replies.

"I'm not in the mood," Dean snaps. "I just had a twelve inch herpy crawl out of my ear."

Addison frowns. "What?"

"You heard me. I just woke up on the ground just in time to see this worm thing sliding out of my fucking ear and into that vent. So you tell me what the hell's going on."

"You killed Gwen, that's what's going on," Samuel answers.

A shocked look appears on Dean's face. "We were just talking out in the hallway. That's the last thing I remember. That thing must've jumped me."

"So we're talking about, like, a monster that gets in you," Bobby says.

"It's like a Khan Worm on steroids."

"You mean like a parasite, something that took over your body," Sam questions.

"Worm crawls in, your worm crawls out."

"Monster possession? That's novel," Rufus says.

"What if that thing's still in you," Samuel counters. "We can't trust a word you're saying.

Dean glares and aims his gun at Samuel. "It's not."

"Check your ear," Bobby says.

"What do you mean check my ear? Check my ear for what?" Rufus moves over to him and places a finger in Dean's ear. Dean slaps his hand away. "Why don't you buy me a drink first?"

"Second date. Oh, yeah, we're goo positive," Rufus tells them.

"What does that mean?"

"Means it was in you, all right."

"Or it still is," Samuel says.

"It's not in me," Dean repeats as Bobby grabs a burlap bag.

"Okay. Everybody, give up your guns," Bobby says.

"What," Samuel asks.

"Whoa, think about this for a second, Bobby," Rufus says.

"I'm thinking we don't who is and who ain't got the damn Khan worm up inside his melon," Bobby argues.

"It's not in me," Dean repeats.

"I didn't say it was. Point is, we don't know who it is. Could be any one of us. So the best we can do is to make it that much harder for that thing to blow our fool heads off."

Bobby's the first the put his gun in the bag followed by Dean. The others reluctantly follow, except for Samuel. "You waiting for a handwritten invite, Campbell," Rufus says. Samuel looks at them, then places his gun in the bag.

Bobby and Rufus lock the bag in a random locker in the break room. "Okay," Bobby says. "We need some time to breath. Make a plan."

"A plan? Based on," Samuel asks.

"I'm gonna make a few phone calls. See if anybody ever heard of anything like this."

"Hmm. Ditto," Rufus agrees, pulling out his phone. "I got a few trees I can shake."

Addison nods, taking out her iPhone. "I'll do the same."

* * *

Addison sighs and drops her phone on the table. She was sitting at the table with the boys while Bobby and Rufus paced around the room. Samuel stands up and Sam follows suit. "Relax. Bathroom break. So unless you wanna hold it for me," Samuel says, then walks around Sam and out of the break room.

Dean stands and exchanges a look with Sam before the boys leave. "Well, I got a dump truck full of bupkis," Bobby says, snapping his phone shut.

"Ditto," Addison comments.

"Nothing here either," Rufus agrees. "You call Willie?"

"Of course, you think I'm an idjit," Bobby replies.

"How about Rog?"

"Wouldn't talk to me."

Rufus laughs. "Yeah, me neither."

"Okay. Plan B. Let's just go grab the thing."

"And then what exactly?"

"Well, we sit on our thumbs or we go in guns blazing."

"Like Omaha?"

"You know what? Fuck you for bringing up Omaha. That's just low."

Addison shifts and picks her phone. A gun shot goes off and they run out of the room. They run into Dean and Sam. "We heard a shot," Addison says.

"Samuel," Dean shouts, then continues down a different hallway.

"I'm gonna be needing my gun back now, Bobby," Rufus says.

"No shit," Addison replies. They make their way back into the break room and Bobby smashes the lock.

"Hey, don't feel bad. You know, it was a good plan," Rufus says as Bobby empties the bag onto the table. "Except for the part where a monster would definitely, definitely not give up all his weapons."

"Shut up," Bobby tells him, picking up his gun.

The door bursts open and Dean walks in with Sam. "We lost him," Dean tells them.

"So what's the plan," Sam asks.

"We stick together. We gotta keep track of this thing and who it's in."

The group sets out, searching the cannery for Samuel. Sam suddenly grabs Dean's arm and four guns are pointed at him. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hey, hey, hey. Hold on. Look," Sam says, shining his flashlight on a trip wire. They follow the wire and find a bucket with a couple of jar filled with nails hanging above them.

"Booby trap," Dean states.

"I'll be damned," Bobby comments. They each step over the trip wire, and continue down the hallway. A door suddenly closes, separating them from Sam.

"Hey! Hey," Dean shouts. Addison, Bobby, and Rufus turn to see the door shut.

"Whoa! Dean," Sam yells.

"Sam! Damn it. Son of a bitch."

"Dean?"

"Sam!"

"I'm gonna go around, okay?"

"All right. Watch yourself."

"Yeah."

The group continues searching the cannery when a gun shot goes off. They run in the direction of it and find Sam standing over Samuel's body. "Drop the gun, Sam," Bobby says.

Sam sets his gun down. "It's me."

"Okay. That's great, Sam. Just got to cuff you, uh, till we can be sure, okay? You understand, right," Rufus asks, taking out a zip tie and wraps it around Sam's wrists.

"It's in him."

"You sure," Addison asks.

"Yeah. Yeah, I think."

"You see anything come out of him...after he dropped," Rufus questions. Sam remains silent. Bobby and Rufus pick up Samuel and they all make their way back to the break room, where they drop his body on the table. Bobby swabs his ears.

"Tell me you got something," Dean says.

"Nothing," Bobby answers.

"What? So - so you mean he wasn't a monster when I ganked him," Sam asks, looking around.

"One way to find out," Rufus replies. "Bobby, you got a cranial saw in the car?"

"Of course," Bobby answers.

Dean shakes his head. "You're not going alone."

"Oh, no, he won't," Rufus agrees. "He won't. We will both go grab some tools and see about getting some power in this place. And I want you and you and you to - okay, I want you, you, and you to watch him and him and - all right, if anything crawls out of anybody, somebody step on it."

"Yeah, don't worry. I'll watch Samuel. Dean will watch me. And Ads will watch him," Sam tells them.

"Yeah, right."

They watch as Bobby and Rufus walk out of the room. "You did the right thing, you know," Dean tells Sam.

"You mean you think I did, if it's in him and I'm me. This thing's playing three card monte with us," Sam counters.

Dean shrugs. "Well, I'm just gonna assume you're you."

Sam holds up his hands. "You want to take this off, then?"

Dean exchanges a look with Addison. "Not till we get that sucker out of his walnut."

"I don't know. I mean, I barely remember him and what I do remember - it's not good. And what he did to us...but..."

"There's a 'but?'"

"I mean, I just can't help but think, what would Mom say?"

"You know what I think Mom would say? She'd say just cause you're blood doesn't make you family. You got to earn that," Dean replies as the lights flicker on.

"All right," Rufus announces as he and Bobby walk back into the break room. "Let's play Operation."

Rufus opens a duffle bag and pulls out the cranial saw. "You boys want to take a breather," Bobby asks, turning to the boys.

"We're good."

"We're about to crack open your grandpa's grapefruit. Take a breather."

With a look, the boys walk out of the room. Rufus holds up the end of the cable on saw, which was frayed. "What is this," he asks. "Have you been dumpster diving again?"

"What? It still works," Bobby counters.

Rufus scoffs. "Yeah, right. Hope so."

Bobby glances at Addison, then lowers his voice. "Listen, Rufus, I've been thinking."

"Yeah, well wonders never cease."

"Yeah, shut up a minute. I'm trying to say something. It was my fault - Omaha."

"No. No, it wasn't."

"No, I should - I should have listened to you."

"Well, hey, that's categorical, Bobby."

Addison clears her throat. "Look, I have no problem with awkwardly standing here while you guys rehash stuff, but, um, should you be doing that when there's a monster that possesses people and may or may not be alive lying on the table?" At the looks they send her, Addison nods. "Right. Well, I'll wait outside."

Addison walks over to the door when Samuel sits up. He throws Bobby and Rufus into the lockers. Addison grabs a chair and swings it at him, causing him to stumble. Samuel easily breaks off a table leg and hits her on the side of the head. She falls to the ground as he shoves the table leg through the door handle. Rufus manages to get a few punches thrown in before Samuel violently shoves him into the lockers. Bobby grabs Samuel and throws him against the pillar that the saw in plugged into. His body shakes, then slumps to the ground and a dark green, thick worm slithers out of his ear. The boys kick open the doors and burst into the room. Sam moves to help Bobby while Dean goes to Addison. "Ads. Ads. Addison," he says, gently shaking her. She groans and he lets out a relived breath. "Hey, you all right?"

"I'm fine," Addison answers as he helps her up.

"This can't be my afterlife cause the four of you are here," Rufus comments, from where he was leaning against the wall. "What happened?"

"Well, when we left, he was dead on the table," Sam says

"Yeah, till he wasn't," Bobby replies.

"So how did he get double dead," Rufus questions.

"Bobby threw him against that," Dean says, motioning to the pillar. "I guess it was a live wire. It shorted and he went ape. Then that thing crawled out of his ear."

"At least we know what tickles it. Electricity," Bobby tells them.

"Yeah. Now the question is, where'd it go? You see," Sam asks.

Addison shakes her head. "No."

"You three were down for the count."

"Yeah. Well, either it bailed or it's in one of you," Dean says.

"Or it's in one of you," Rufus argues.

"No, we were awake."

"Did you have eyes on each other?"

"Yes."

"One hundred percent of the time."

Dean pauses. "Define a hundred."

"Like I said."

"All right, how about, uh, check for goo, right," Sam suggests. All five of them stick their fingers in their ears and then pull them out after a couple of seconds. "Nothing."

"It could've left," Addison says.

"No. It might have wised up and covered it's trail," Dean tells her.

"All right, let's settle this one hundred percent," Sam says.

"How?" They watch as Sam breaks the saw's cable and strips off the end. Dean nods and plug it in. "You're live."

"Okay. All right." Sam taps it against a metal chair and sparks fly. He presses the cable against Samuel's body and it twitches. "Yeah."

"Okay. I'm not a doctor, but I'm gonna go ahead and call this one," Rufus says.

"Yeah. All right, who wants to go first?"

Dean takes off his jacket and rolls up a sleeve. He holds out his arm. "Come on."

"You sure?"

"Hurry up before I start thinking—" He's cut off when Sam presses the wire against his forearm. "Son of a bitch!" Sam removes the wire. "Whew. Awesome. Here, you want me to—" Sam shoves up his sleeves and presses the wire against his own arm. Dean holds his hand for the wire and Sam hands it to him. Bobby shoves his sleeve up and Dean presses the wire against his forearm. The older hunter shakes his head and lets out a deep breath as Dean turns to Rufus.

Rufus holds up his hands. "Whoa, whoa, no. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I—"

"No passes, Rufus. Come on."

"I got a damn pacemaker."

"You better hope it's a good one."

"Since when you got a pacemaker," Bobby asks.

"Since Bush Jr., term one," Rufus answers. "I'm down three toes too, FYI." Reluctantly, Rufus pushes up his sleeve. "All right, just make it quick." Dean presses the wire against his arm and Rufus grunts in pain. Dean pulls back. "Damn it. Damn it."

"You okay," Dean asks.

"No, I'm not okay," Rufus snaps. He rips the wire out of Dean's hand. "Gimme that."

"Guess that means it's my turn, huh," Addison says, taking a small step backwards. "Well, since it's not in me, you can zap away."

"All right, then just stand still, Addison."

Addison nods, shuffling back. "Okay."

"We make this quick."

"Uh huh."

"All right? Let's do this."

"Okay. Uh, hold up for a second."

Dean frowns and exchanges a look with Sam. This didn't feel right. He glances at Bobby and finds that the older hunter is just as perplexed as they are.

"Just a sec nothing, whatever you are," Rufus says.

Addison raises an eyebrow. "It's me. Addison."

Dean glares. "You're not Ads."

Rufus moves to place the wire against her neck, when Addison pulls out a knife and stabs him in the heart. "Addison," Sam shouts as she pulls the knife out. Rufus stumbles back and Sam catches him. Sam lays Rufus down as Bobby and Dean surround Addison. Her grip on the knife tightens as looks around. She reaches over and yanks the plug out of the socket. "Ads, there are three of us and one of you."

Addison looks between the three hunters. She raises the knife and lunges at Bobby. He grabs the hand with the knife and twists her arm behind her. Dean comes up and punches her, knocking her out. Addison slumps against Bobby and the three hunters exchange a look. They place Addison in a chair. Bobby places zip ties around her arms and the chair's arms while Sam searches for something to tie her to the chair. Eventually he finds some duct tape and wraps it around her. They seal up every crack they could find with the duct tape.

The hunters stand back and watch as Addison wakes up. She struggles against the binds. "Well, hey there, you little herpy," Dean coldly greets, standing up. He places the wire against her neck and she lets out a pain grunt. Black ooze slowly dripped from her nose.

"Why do you keep talking about herpies," Sam asks.

Dean pauses. "What?" Sam stares at him. "I don't. Shut up." Sam shoots him a knowing look. "Shut up." Dean turns back to Addison. "Don't you even think about shagging ass out of here because we got every crack in this room sealed. So get comfy."

"I am comfy," the monster replies. It wasn't Addison's voice. This one was much deeper. "It's nice in here. And you love her, don't you? You really wanna kill me and take her with me? Haven't you lost enough pals today?"

"We'll do what we have to do. Now, we got some questions for you. So you can either play ball or we can fry up a little shrimp on the barbie."

"Ask. Been waiting for you to ask."

"What the hell's that supposed to mean?"

"It means I got nothing to hide."

"What are you," Sam asks.

"You haven't got a name for me yet. I'm new around here. Eve cooked me up herself."

Dean places the wire on Addison's neck and she groans in pain. "Who is she, this Eve bitch?"

"The mother of all of us. And the end of all of you. By the time she's done there'll be more creatures than humans. You'll live in pens. We'll serve up your young and call it veal."

"What's your deal in all of this," Sam questions. "How's jumping a few truckers gonna help?"

"You think I'm here to mess with a couple of cannery workers? We led you here."

"Why?"

"She has a message for you."

"Oh, yeah? What's that," Dean asks.

"You're all gonna die. She's pissed. She's here. And it's gonna be nothing but pain for you from here on in."

Dean nods. "Well, here's my response." He places the wire once more on Addison's neck. She groans and more ooze slowly makes it's way out.

Bobby and Sam exchange a look. "Son," Bobby says and Dean pulls the wire away.

"How much more do you think she can take," Sam asks, looking between them.

"You can't kill me," the monster says. "Not without taking her with me."

"Well, we'll just have to do what Ads would want us to do," Dean replies. Sam grabs the duct tape and wraps it around Addison's head, covering her mouth, ears, and nose. "No way out now, sluggo." Dean looks at Sam and Sam nods. He glances at Bobby and the older hunter nods. "Ads, hang on in there." Dean put the wire back on her neck. Her screams are muffled by the tape. They all look away as black ooze pours over the tape. She falls silent; her head lolls forward. "Ads?"

Sam kneels in front of her. He gently grabs her head. "Hey, hey." He starts pulling the tape off when the dead monster falls out of her ear.

Dean kneels next to her. "Addison. Hey."

"She's not breathing."

"Let's get her on the table," Bobby says. They cut off the tape and zip ties before laying her on the table.

* * *

Dean knocks on the door frame of the bathroom as Addison applies ointment to the burn mark on her neck. They had buried Rufus earlier that day in a nearby Jewish cemetery. "So does that blanket apology include that stuff you call food? Because then me almost crashing the Impala counts as part of mine," Addison says, turning to face him.

"You are not driving my car," Dean replies, moving closer.

"It was one time and besides you were the one who distracted—" She's cut off when he presses his lips against her. After a moment, she kisses back. His hands grip her hips as her back hits the edge of the sink. Addison pulls away. "Not that I didn't enjoy it, but what was that for?"

Dean frowns, confused. "What?"

"We've been down this road before, Dean. And it always ends badly. I just…I don't think we should go down that road right now." Addison tightly embraces him. "Besides, right now, I just really want my best friend back."

Dean closes his eyes and presses his lips against the top of her head. The past few days, everything that Bizarro Addison had said to him had kept replying over in his head. But he knew she was right. "By the way, I hate your hair."

Addison bursts laughing. "Duly noted."


	17. My Heart Will Go On

Chapter 17 - My Heart Will Go On

Addison silently sips her tea as she stands behind Sam and Dean in the kitchen doorway. They were watching Bobby, who was sitting behind his desk, researching and drinking whiskey. "Say something," Sam whispers.

"No. You," Dean whispers back.

"No. You."

Addison rolls her eyes when the brothers play 'rock, paper, scissors.' "My God, you two are pathetic," she whispers.

"You three just gonna stand there like the ugly girl at the prom or you gonna pitch in," Bobby says, not looking up from the book in front of him. "This so called Eve, mother of whatever, ain't gonna gank herself." He looks up as the three of them near his desk. "What's wrong with you three?"

"Bobby, you haven't slept in days," Dean points out.

"I sleep. What are you, my wife now?"

"I'm just saying that, you know, taking five might be a good thing."

"For whom?"

"Look, Bobby, it was - it was tough for all of us, seeing Rufus go like that," Sam says.

"You think this...This ain't about Rufus."

"Bobby, he wasn't just a work friend," Addison says.

"You know when I knew Rufus was done for? The day I met him. The only question was, who first - him or me? Now, you want to stand there and therapise, or you want to get me some coffee?" The three of them exchange a look. "Make it Irish."

Addison shakes her head as she walks out of the living room with the boys. "Well, he's doing fantastic," Dean mutters.

"Yeah, this isn't about Rufus at all," Sam agrees.

"Well, what do you want to do? We can't just sit here and watch him poop out his liver."

"Well, I found a possible job," Addison says. "Maybe getting him out of the house will do some good."

"Really," Dean asks and she nods. "What've you got?"

Addison pulls out her phone and hands it to Dean. "Chester, Pennsylvania. In the last week, three people died from really weird accidents and they were all blood relatives."

"What are you thinking, family curse?"

Addison shrugs. "That's number one on the long list of possibilities."

"Hey, Grumpy," Dean calls out, turning to see that Bobby had walked up behind them. "You, uh—"

"I don't want to do crap," Bobby interrupts. "Leave me alone. Just...get out of my house, all three of you. You're driving me nuts."

"Bobby."

"Now! For the love of Pete."

The trio quickly packs up their gear and makes their way out to the black Mustang. "You know, maybe we should wait till she gets back," Sam says, as they climb in.

"Dude, she just called from the road, said she'd be here in two shakes," Dean replies. "You really wanna sit around and smell him stew in his juices?"

Addison wrinkles her nose. "Yeah. Drive."

* * *

Dean turns on the EMF meter as they search the garage of the latest victim. "Not a blip," he comments, turning the EMF meter off.

"That crosses out one thing," Addison replies. "So, what could it be?"

Sam frowns and picks up a gold thread. "What you got," Dean asks, walking over to him. Sam holds up the thread. "What is that, Christmas tinsel?"

"I don't know," Sam replies. He rubs the the thread against an old flower pot and a streak is left behind. "It's gold."

"You mean, like, gold gold?"

"Why would a handyman have gold just lying around in his garage?"

"I doubt he's Rumpelstiltskin," Addison comments.

"Well, there is definitely a skeleton in this family's closet. I mean, accidents don't just happen accidentally," Dean says. Sam and Addison stare at him. "You know what I mean."

"All right. How about me and Ads will go check the family records, you go with next of kin," Sam replies.

"Yeah."

* * *

After finding nothing unusual in the victim's family tree and checking out the office of a travel agent who died in a very bizarre accident, the trio are in the motel room. "So, we found another piece of this, I don't know, shiny string," Dean says into his phone as he walks around the room. Sam and Addison were sitting at the table, researching. "Why? What's up? Blood relatives? So what's it mean? How's he doing, by the way? I heard that. Are you okay? Yeah, well. All right, so, all these corpses, anything relate 'em? Hit me. Really? All right, so what's so special about the boat? What was it called? No. All right." Dean closes his phone with a snap. "Does the name Titanic ring a bell?"

Addison shakes her head. "Titanic? No," Sam replies.

"The RMS Titanic was the largest passenger steam ship in the world when it made its maiden voyage across the North Atlantic in 1912," Addison reads from her laptop after doing a Google search.

"So what's the big fucking deal? It's a ship. It sailed."

"Apparently there was a close call where it almost hit an iceberg."

"Almost? So?"

"The first mate spotted it just in time."

"Good for him. There anything else?"

Addison frowns. "The first mate was a Mr. I. P. Freeley."

"Well, that's not suspicious. You got a picture of old Freeley?"

Addison nods and enlarges the picture. She rolls her eyes and turns her laptop to face the guys. "Oh, you got to be kidding me," Sam says, spotting Balthazar in the photo.

The trio gets to work setting up the spell to summon the angel. Addison draws symbols around the bowl and candles while Sam closes the curtains. Dean lights a match and drops it in the bowl. The lights flicker and a fluttering of wings causes them to turn around. "Whatever can I do you for," Balthazar drawls.

"We need to talk," Dean snaps.

"Well, you seem upset, Dean."

"The fuck with the boat, Balthazar?"

"What boat?"

"The Titanic," Sam replies.

"Oh. The Titanic. Yes, well, uh, it was meant to sink and I saved it."

"What?"

"Well it was meant to bash into this iceberg thing and plunge into the briny deep with all this hoopla and I saved it. Anything else I can answer for you?"

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did you un-sink the ship," Dean asks.

"Oh, because I hated the movie."

"What movie?"

Balthazar laughs. "Exactly."

Addison blinks. "You saved a ship because—"

"Because that God awful Celine Dion song made me want to smite myself."

"Who's Celine Dion?"

"Oh, she's a destitute lounge singer somewhere in Quebec and let's keep it that way, please."

"Okay, I didn't think that was possible. I thought you couldn't change history," Sam says.

"Haven't you noticed? There's no more rules."

"Wow. The nerve on you. So you just, what, un sunk a giant boat?"

"Oh come on. I saved people. I thought you loved that kind of thing."

"Yeah, but now those people and their kids and their kids' kids, they must have interacted with some other people, changed so much shit. You totally Butterfly Effected history!"

"Dude. Dude. Rule one: no Kutcher references," Dean says and Addison rolls her eyes.

"Ah, yes. Unfortunately, there's still an Ashton Kutcher. And you still averted the apocalypse and there are still archangels. It's just the small details that are different, like you don't drive an Impala." The trio exchanges a confused look. "Yes, yes. 'What's an Impala?' Trust me, it's not important. And, of course, Ellen and Jo are alive."

"Ellen and Jo? What?"

"Yes, they're supposed to be dead. You see, I save a boat, one thing leads to another, which leads to another thousand things and yadda, yadda, yadda. To cut a long story short, they don't die in a massive explosion. Anyway, let's agree I did a good thing. One less Billy Zane movie and I saved two of your closet friends."

"Except that now somebody is killing the descendants of the survivors," Addison counters.

"And?"

"That's, like, fifty thousand people."

"And?"

"And we need to save as many as we can, but we need to know who's after 'em," Dean says.

"Oh, uh, sorry, uh. You have me confused with the other angel - you know, the one in the dirty trench coat who's in love with you. I don't care. Goodbye."

"Whoa, whoa, wait, wait," Dean calls, but Balthazar vanishes. "Son of a bitch!"

Dean runs a hand over his face. He pulls out his phone and dials Bobby before sitting down on the bed. The trio quickly catch the older hunter up to speed on what they had learned. "Balthazar un sank a boat and now we got a boatload of people who should never have been born," Bobby says over the speaker phone.

"Yeah, about fifty thousand or so," Addison says.

"Makes sense."

"How does any of this make sense," Sam asks.

"Because I got an idea who we're up against."

"What," Dean questions.

"Fate."

"You mean—"

"I mean Fate, like the Fates. Or one of them, at least."

Addison frowns. "Like from Greek mythology? The sisters that cut a string and kill you?"

"Bingo."

"Nerd," Dean comments. Addison stares at him and he grins back.

"These ladies are responsible for how you go down. Literally. So if you get creamed by a garage door or crunched by a copy machine they're the ones who hammer out the details of how you die. Spin out your fate on a piece of pure gold."

"Gold thread," Sam says.

"And then one of them writes it all down in her day runner of death. It's high level stuff. Anyway, fits. Now we know what Balthazar did. It seems to met that maybe Fate is just trying to clean up the mess."

"So how do we stop it?"

"How do we stop Fate? Good question."

"Well, there's gotta be a way," Dean replies.

"Or there ain't. This is Fate we're talking about here. You know, the easiest way would be to get that angel to re sink the boat."

Dean shakes his head. "No. No way. Forget it."

"Big difference between dying awful and never being born, Dean."

"We are not sinking the boat, Bobby. Okay? Don't even think about it."

"Well, okay. What's got your panties in a clench?"

The trio exchanges a look. "Nothing," Dean unconvincingly tells him.

"Try that again?"

"It - look, it doesn't even really matter, but..."

"But?"

"Apparently, a shit load of dominoes get tipped over if the Titanic goes down. And, uh, bottom line...Ellen and Jo die."

Bobby's silent for a couple of minutes. "Okay, you three, listen up. You make sure. Keep those angels from sinking that boat. You understand me?"

"Yeah," the trio reply in chorus. Bobby hangs up and they exchange a look.

"He's bad enough with her. Think how he'd be if she was gone," Dean comments.

Sam sighs. "So, what do we do? I mean, how do we save fifty thousand people?"

"I got no fucking clue."

"And we don't know who they are," Addison sighs.

Dean picks up a pamphlet off the nightstand. It was for Shawn Russo, the next of kin that Dean had talked to. "Well, we know one."

* * *

The Mustang is parked down the street from Russo's office. The trio watches as a middle aged man in a suit and another man wearing a neck brace walk down the street. "That's him. Let's go," Dean says, then they climb out of the car and follow him. "Mr. Russo!" They're ignored as Russo talks on his cell phone. "Shawn!" Russo continues paying them no attention. "Russo, stop!"

Russo turns to them. Dean grabs Russo's arm and pulls him out of the intersection just as a van slams to a stop, narrowly missing Russo. Shocked, he falls to the ground. Sam and Addison help him up while Dean grabs his phone. "Get off of me," Russo snaps, shrugging Sam and Addison off. He glares at Dean. "And you - I told you to leave me alone, didn't I?"

"Look, we're just trying to help you out, okay," Dean replies.

"Help me? You almost killed me, you lunatic. Give me that." Russo snatches his phone out of Dean's hand. "Unbelievable."

Russo turns and starts across the street. "Russo! Hey," Dean shouts.

"Just be glad I'm not suing your—" Russo's cut off when a bus comes out of nowhere and slams into him. Blood was splattered all over the street.

The trio stares in disbelief. "You've got to be kidding me," Dean comments. He smirks, seeing the ad on the back of the bus. "Guys, check it out."

"What," Sam replies.

Dean points the ad for Russo's law firm on the back of the bus and he gets two disbelieving looks. "Too soon?"

"Yeah, Dean. I'm pretty sure six seconds is too soon." Sam spots a petite blonde woman standing across the street in an old restaurant. She was staring at them. "Hey, hey, hey. I think I saw her. Right over there."

"Her," Addison questions. "You mean Fate?"

"Yeah."

"What'd she look like," Dean asks.

"Kind of like a librarian."

"Your kind of librarian or my kind of librarian?"

"Well, she was wearing clothes, if that's what you mean."

"All right."

Dean starts across the street, but Addison grabs his arm. "Dean, we can't just walk over there."

"We're not on the hit list. We have nothing to do with the boat. Let's go talk to her."

Addison raises an eyebrow. "Talk, huh."

"Yeah, you know." Dean flashes his gun. "Talk. Worth a shot, right?"

Addison exchanges a look with Sam and the trio make their way across the street. "Hello," Dean calls. "Hello?" He shines a flashlight around the empty restaurant as they search. The flashlight flickers and he shakes it as it dies. "Oh, come on."

"You got a lighter," Sam asks.

"Yeah." Dean takes out his Zippo and tries flicking it on to no avail.

"Seriously," Addison says. "Is it out of fluid or something?"

"It shouldn't be."

Dean finally gets the lighter to work as they move into the kitchen. Flames ignite and in an instant, they're no longer in the restaurant but in a dark field. They turn and Castiel standing behind them. "Cas," Dean greets.

"Hello, Dean. Sam. Addison," Castiel replies.

"Hey. Thanks, man," Sam tells him.

Addison nods. "So, um, where are we?"

"White Russia," the angel answers.

The trio looks around in disbelief. "Are you aware of what your frat bro did," Dean asks.

"I"m aware. Balthazar can impetuous."

"Well, riddle me this: if Fate's going after the boat people, why'd she try to waste us?"

"I imagine she harbors a certain degree of rage toward you."

Sam frowns. "What did we do?"

"Nothing of import. Just the tiny matter of averting the apocalypse and rendering her obsolete. I think maybe she's a little irritated about that. And then you go and dangle yourselves in front of her."

Dean nods. "So we've pissed Fate off personally."

"If I know her, and I do, she won't stop until you're dead."

"Lovely," Addison mutters.

"So, what do we do," Dean asks.

"Kill her," Castiel tells them.

Sam scoffs. "Kill Fate?"

Castiel turns to him. "Do you have another suggestion?"

"No, I'm - I just mean - can you even do that?"

"Balthazar has a weapon that will work against her."

"Of course he does," Dean says, with an eye roll. "That guy has just got it covered. You need new friends, Cas."

"I'm trying to save the ones I have, Dean," Castiel snaps. "We'll have to draw her out."

"All right, well, uh, she's gunning for us. She's bound to surface again eventually," Sam says.

Castiel nods. "We'll make it easy for her. I think you have an expression for it. Tempting fate?" The trio exchanges a look, knowing what it meant.

* * *

Castiel sends them back to Chester, Pennsylvania and the trio sets out on a walk through the town. "Okay, so we're just gonna meet our fate at any time, right," Dean asks.

"Yeah," Sam answers. "Just walk. Act natural."

A man runs past them and they continue walking. A skateboarder jumps off a set of stairs and they stop in time to avoid being hit. "Okay," Dean breathes.

"Yeah. It's fine."

A BMXer jumps off the stairs behind them. They continue and pass a dog walker. "Oh, you gotta be kidding me," Dean comments as they come upon a couple of people juggling knives and axes.

Addison clears her throat. "Let's just keep walking, guys."

They move closer to the jugglers. "Ads, they're juggling knives," Dean reminds. "And hatchets."

"Yeah, I can see that." The jugglers put the knives and hatchets away in exchange for batons on fire. Addison nods. "Well, you can't avoid fate." She takes a deep breath and quickly and carefully passes in front of the jugglers. The boys look at the each, then follow after her.

They continue through the town, passing a construction worker in the process. "All right. I don't get it," Sam says.

"I don't either. I mean, who do you gotta kill to get killed around here," Dean asks.

Addison shrugs. "Maybe Cas was wrong."

"Look out," someone shouts. The trio stops and looks up to see an industrial air conditioner unit falling towards them.

* * *

Dean wakes with a start to find himself in the Impala parked in the junkyard in front of Bobby's house and the song from Titanic playing on the radio. Sam was asleep in the passenger seat next to him. He looks over his shoulder and finds Addison stretched out in the backseat. He switches off the radio and climbs out of the Impala as his mind replays the bizarre dream he just had. Sam snaps awake as Addison lets out a snore. Sam climbs out of the Impala and turns to his older brother. "Dude, what time is it," he asks. Dean glances at his watch. "I just had the weirdest dream."

"Twenty bucks says mine was weirder. I am not kidding," Dean replies.

"No, no. I'm not kidding either. I mean, it was...just bizarre."

"Mine had the actual Titanic in it." Sam stares in disbelief. "What? There something on my face?"

"Did it, uh, not sink? Because Balthazar—"

"Had a hate on for Billy Zane? Why are you having my dreams, dude?"

"It wasn't a dream." The boys turn to see Castiel standing a few feet away.

Dean frowns. "Wait. What? You're saying this actually happened? That the whole - whatever. That was real?"

"Yes."

"Wait. So, what happened," Sam questions.

"Well, I insisted he go back in time and correct what he had done."

"What? Why?"

"It was the only way to be sure you were safe."

"So...so you killed fifty thousand people for us."

Castiel pauses. "No, I didn't. They were never born. That's far different from being killed, wouldn't you say?"

"Ellen and Jo," Dean asks.

"I'm sorry," the angel answers after a moment.

"Hold on. Uh, so if you guys went and - and changed everything back then that whole time line or whatever, it just got erased?"

"Yeah. More or less."

"Then how come he and I remember it?"

"Because I wanted you to remember it."

"Why," Sam asks.

"I wanted you to know who Fate really is. She's cruel and capricious."

"I'd go so far as bitch," Dean comments.

"Well, yeah. You're the ones who taught me that you can make your own destiny. You don't have to be ruled by fate. You can choose freedom. I still believe that that's something worth fighting for. I just wanted you to understand that."

"So wait. Did Balthazar really, uh, unravel the sweater over a chick flick?"

"Yes. Absolutely. That's what he did."

"Wow. Might be time to take away his cable privileges. Besides, Titanic didn't suck that bad." Sam stares at him. "Winselt's rack." Castiel vanishes with a flutter of wings as Sam scoffs. "Well, I'll tell you one thing about Cas, he does not appreciate the finer things."

"I guess things are back to normal, huh," Sam comments.

"Normal. Awesome."


	18. Frontierland

Chapter 18 - Frontierland

"Look, it's here somewhere. I know it is," Sam says as they search Samuel's office in the now abandoned Campbell compound. He grabs one end of a desk. "Help me move this." Bobby grabs the other end and they push the desk against the wall. Sam drops to the floor and searches before pulling open a hidden door.

"Well, I'll be damned," Bobby comments. They climb down and find a hidden room filled with books.

"Welcome to the Campbell family library," Sam tells them.

Dean shines a flashlight around the room and finds a wall filled with old photos. "So Samuel collected all this stuff, huh?"

"Apparently," Addison says.

"Well. All right. What are we looking for?"

"Well, anything that'll put a run in the Octomom's stockings," Bobby says.

"Pick a row," Sam says and the hunters get to researching.

A few hours later, they're sitting around the table. "You jokers ever heard anything about a phoenix," Bobby asks.

"River, Joaquin, or the giant flaming bird," Dean replies.

"It says here that the ashes of a phoenix can burn the mother."

"The mother," Sam asks and Bobby nods.

"Great. Where do we get one," Dean asks.

Bobby shrugs. "You got me. I thought it was a myth."

"Great. Well, let's see if we can find anything out about a phoenix," Sam says.

They delve back into the books. "Guys. Guys, guys, guys, check this out," Dean excitedly says. He walks back over to the table with an old journal in his hands. "'March 5th, 1861. Sunrise, Wyoming. Gun killed a phoenix today. Left a pile of smoldering ash.'"

"Really? Whose gun," Sam questions.

"Colt's."

"Colt? Colt like—"

"Like the Colt. From..." Dean holds up the journal. "Samuel Colt's Journal."

"What? That's his?"

"Yeah."

"Dude, no."

"Dude, yes."

Sam reaches for the journal. "Well, let me see—"

Dean moves it out of reach. "Get your own."

"What else did Colt write about the phoenix," Addison questions. "I mean, what does it look like?"

"It just says phoenix."

"Did he say where he tracked it," Bobby asks.

"No."

"All right. So, I guess we gotta find one of our own. Whatever it is," Sam says.

"I know where we can find one." Sam and Bobby stare at him. "March 5th, 1861, Sunrise, Wyoming. We'll Star Trek IV this bitch."

Dean and Addison exchange a look at the blank looks on Sam's and Bobby's faces. "I only watched Deep Space Nine," Bobby comments.

"It's like I don't even know you guys anymore. Star Trek IV, save the whales."

Addison shakes her head at the blank looks on Sam's and Bobby's face. "You want to go back in time, hunt the phoenix with Samuel Colt, and bring the ashes back as a souvenir," she asks Dean.

"Yeah."

"That's a reasonable plan," Bobby disbelievingly asks.

"We got a guy who can swing it." Dean closes the journal and stands up. He closes his eyes. "Castiel, the, uh, fate of the world is in the balance, so come on down here." He opens an eye and looks around. "Come on, Cas. I Dream of Jeannie your ass down here, pronto. Please." A flutter of wings cause them to turn and see a woman standing in the room. "Jeannie?"

"Rachel," the woman corrects. "I understand you need some assistance. How can I help you?"

"Well, uh, we kind of need to talk to the big kahuna."

"I'm here on Castiel's behalf."

"Where's Cas," Addison asks.

"Busy."

"Busy," Dean repeats.

"Yes."

"Well, we've got a line on the mother of fucking everything, so—"

"I'm sure your issue is very important, but Castiel is currently commanding an army, so—"

"So we get stuck with Miss Moneypenny."

"So you need to learn your place."

"Look, I don't know who you think you are—"

"I'm his friend."

"What? You think we're not," Sam asks.

"I think you call him when you need something. We're fighting a war."

"We get that."

"Clearly you don't or you wouldn't call him every time you stub your toe you petty, entitled little piece—"

"Rachel." Castiel appears in the room. "That's enough."

"I told you I'd take care of this."

"It's all right, you can go."

"You're staying?"

"Go," Castiel orders. "I'll come when I can." Rachel looks at him, then vanishes.

"Wow," Dean comments. "Friend of yours?"

"Yes. She's, uh, my lieutenant. She's committed to the cause. Now, what do you need?"

* * *

"Where the hell's Dean," Bobby questions as he, Sam, and Addison sit in the den in his house. Castiel was waiting by the door. They were preparing for the trip back into the past.

"Supply run, he said. I don't know," Sam answers.

"Um, about your plan...You'll only have twenty-four hours," Castiel says.

Addison frowns. "What? Why?"

"Well, the answer to your question can best be expressed as a series of partial differential equations."

"Yeah. Aim lower," Bobby tells the angel.

"The further back I send you, the harder it becomes to retrieve you. Twenty-four hours is all I can risk. If I don't pull you home within that time...you'll be lost to me."

"Well, then we better get you a watch," Dean says, walking into the den with four paper bags.

"What the hell's all that," Bobby asks.

"We are going native. Gotta blend in."

Dean holds out one of the bags to Sam and the logo for a western clothing store is on it. "Uh, ha, ha. No, thanks. I'm fine," Sam tells him.

"Sam."

"Dean, I can wear this," Sam argues, motioning to his own clothes.

"And look like a spaceman?"

"Just because you're obsessed with all that Wild West—"

"I'm not."

"You have a fetish, Dean."

"Shut up. I like old movies."

"You can recite every Clint Eastwood movie ever made. Line for line."

"Even the monkey movies," Bobby asks.

"Yeah. Especially the monkey movies."

"His name is Clyde," Dean defends. Sam sends him a pointed look. "At least wear the damn shirt." With a sigh, Sam grabs the bag. Dean holds out a different bag to Addison and she grabs it with a smile.

After changing, the brothers make their way down to the den. Sam wore a white shirt with jeans. Dean was wearing a hat with a striped blanket. "Dean, this is stupid," Sam complains. "I look stupid."

"You going to a hoedown," Bobby amusedly asks.

"Now, is it customary to wear a blanket," Castiel questions.

"It's a serape," Dean corrects. "And, yes. It's, uh...Never mind."

"Are we ready to go," Addison asks, entering the room. She wore a dress that consisted of a dark red corset and black skirt. She pulls on her peacoat.

Dean picks up a handful of the gold they had gotten from the dragons a couple of months earlier. "What's this?"

"Where you're going they don't take plastic," Bobby explains. Dean nods and zips up the duffel bag.

"I'll send you back to March 4th. That should give you time to find the Colt. And this phoenix creature," Castiel says.

"All right, well, see you at high noon tomorrow, partner," Dean replies, winking. Addison grabs Dean's arm as Castiel his hands on Dean's and Sam's foreheads. In the blink of an eye, they're standing in a field. An old west town was down a muddy road. The sign in front of them declared it to be Sunrise, Wyoming. "Oh, now we're talking. All right, let's go find Samuel Colt. Hey, we should try the saloon first to see what we get from the locals."

"Sure. Whatever, Sundance," Sam says, setting his watch.

"Think we'll have time to hit on the saloon girls?" Addison raises an eyebrow. "Kidding. Come on."

They start forward. "Oh, damn it," Sam says and they turn back to see him look at the bottom of his boot. "Come on."

"You know what that is?"

"Yeah. It's horse shit."

"Authenticity."

The trio makes their way into town to where a crowd was standing around a gallows. Four men were standing up there, including a man who had a noose around his neck. "We stand here today March the 4th, 1861, to execute justice upon Elias Finch for the murder of his own wife," one of the men says.

"Talk about authenticity," Addison mutters.

"Sentence handed down by myself, Tye Mortimer, duly appointed judge of the Wyoming Circuit. You will be hung by your neck until you die."

"You got anything to say," another man asks Elias Finch.

"You're gonna burn for this. Every one of you," Elias says.

The executioner pulls the lever and Addison looks away as Elias drops through the trap door. "Good time," Dean comments. "So where do we find Sammy Colt?"

"No idea," Sam replies, watching the judge and a man walk off the gallows. "I think I know who to ask through."

A man in front of them turns around. "Nice blanket."

Dean frowns as the man leaves. He hands the duffle bag to Addison and pulls off the serape before throwing it on the ground. Sam takes off and they catch up with him. They enter the sheriff's office to find a man lounging behind a desk. The executioner was in the corner, reading a paper. Judge Mortimer was sitting in front of the desk. "Sheriff, can we have a word?"

"Depends who's asking," the sheriff replies.

"Marshal Eastwood," Dean answers. He pulls open his vest to reveal a marshal's badge on his shirt. "Clint Eastwood. This here's, uh, Walker. He's a Texas ranger. And this is, uh, Miss Kitty."

"So, what can I do for you boys?"

"Uh, we're looking for a man," Sam says.

"I'll bet," Judge Mortimer says and they stare at him. "Nice shirt there."

"What's wrong with my shirt," Dean asks.

"You're very clean."

Dean shifts. "It's dirtier than it looks."

"We need to find Samuel Colt. Do you know him," Sam asks.

"The gun maker," the sheriff replies.

"Yeah. Is he in town," Addison asks.

"Not that I know of. Might try asking Elkins over at the saloon. Been here longer than God."

Dean nods and they walk out of the office. "Miss Kitty," Addison amusedly asks, as they walk down the dirt road.

"Hey, Miss Kitty was hot," Dean defends. "You don't think this Elkins was related to the one Dad knew, do you?"

"There's no telling, Dean," Addison answers. "Through there is the possibility that we could run into my great-great-granddad Elijah and his brother Jacob. They didn't exactly stay in one area while trying to avoid the Civil War."

The saloon was mostly empty when they enter and the grin on Dean's face disappears. Tables were scattered around. A man was sleeping at one while a couple of prostitutes were sitting at another. A man stood behind the counter wiping it down. "This is not awesome," Dean comments. A small part of Addison felt bad that Dean's childhood fantasy of the Old West was ruined.

"Hi," Sam greets the bartender.

"What'll you have," the bartender asks, putting the rag down.

"Oh, uh, okay," Dean replies. "I'll have your top shelf whiskey."

"Only have the one shelf."

"That'll do just fine." Dean motions to Sam. "He'll have a sarsaparilla. While the lady here—"

"I'm not thirsty," Addison quickly says. The bartender shrugs and grabs two glasses. "Are you Elkins?"

"One and only, ma'am," Elkins answers.

"You know a man named Samuel Colt," Dean asks.

"He passed through here about four years ago."

"He still around," Sam asks.

"Rumor is he's building a railroad stop twenty miles out of town, just by the postal road. Middle of nowhere."

"Devil's Gate," Addison mutters. Dean nods in agreement.

"Howdy, boys." They turn around to see a dirty blonde haired woman. Addison smirks. The woman obviously had some kind of STD around her mouth.

"Darla's my best girl," Elkins informs them.

Darla steps closer to Dean. "Try me." She leans in close to Dean. "You want a kiss?"

"So - so much more germier than I pictured," Dean says, leaning away.

"Darla!" They look to see Judge Mortimer walking towards the stairs that led to the hotel part of the saloon.

"Ah, Judge. Nice to see you," Darla replies, walking over.

"I thought we had a date," Judge Mortimer reminds. Darla nods and they walk up the stairs together.

"That was a close one," Dean murmurs.

"I guess it's good to be the judge," Sam comments.

Dean grabs his whiskey and drinks. Then immediately spits it out. "Oh! It's like gasoline."

Sam picks up his glass and takes a swig. "Sarsaparilla ain't half bad."

Later, as the trio is sitting in the saloon and trying to figure out what to do, a scream comes from upstairs. The trio runs up the stairs and into the room the scream had come from. Darla was standing in a corner. And a burnt skeleton was on the bed.

* * *

"You okay, sheriff," Sam asks. The sheriff had been called over to the saloon by Elkins. They were all standing in the room while Darla was standing by the door.

"Of course I'm okay," the sheriff replies.

"It was a ghost," Darla says.

"It wasn't a ghost. Unless ghosts leave footprints."

The trio looks to see a trail of dark footprints. "I am telling you Elias Finch was here. He did that and then he walked out that door."

"Rope didn't kill him. Seen it before."

"You got any idea where he could be," Sam questions.

"Could be a thousand places."

"Well, you got a way to flush him out," Dean asks.

"Of course. We're gonna form a posse then string Finch up right. Put a bullet in his head for good measure."

"That actually sounds like a good plan."

"You two should come along. Meet downstairs at dawn."

"Yeah, we'll be there."

"Get yourselves some real gear first, huh," the sheriff tells them, then walks out of the room.

"Well, I think we ought to pay our respects to Finch."

"Ditto," Addison says.

A few hours later, the trio is standing over the recently dug up grave belonging to Elias Finch. They were each holding an oil lantern. The coffin was empty. "Rose up from the ashes, burned up its victim," Dean says. "Maybe we're not looking for a flaming bird. Maybe the phoenix is actually walking around in cowboy boots."

"It makes sense, right. Could be Finch," Sam says. "So the question is, how do we put this thing out?"

"Well we do one thing that'll kill fucking anything, right."

"Yeah, the Colt."

"So you go get the gun."

"But isn't the gun coming here? I mean, according to Samuel Colt's journal?"

"Yeah, but people here barely know who Colt is. Maybe you gotta go find him and make history. Me and Ads will stay here, hook up with the posse. Because you know me, I'm a posse magnet. I mean, I love posse. Make that into a T-shirt."

An unamused look was on Sam's face. "You done?" Dean looks down. "Look, the problem is Colt's twenty miles outside of town. How am I supposed to get there and back before noon?"

A horse neighs in the distance. "Ride 'em, cowboy."

The trio makes their way over to the stable and gives one of the guys a gold watch for a horse. "Uh, try the other side," Dean says as Sam awkwardly tries to climb onto the horse.

Sam walks around and climbs onto the horse with a grunt. "Okay. This actually feels all right," he says, taking the reigns.

"Be careful," Addison tells him.

"Yeah, you bet. I'm good. All right, eleven a.m."

"Don't be late," Dean replies. He and Addison step back and watch as Sam takes off on the horse. "That poor horse."

"Oh yeah," Addison agrees. "Well, I don't know about you, but I'm going to find me an authentic cowboy to shack up with tonight."

"We got enough gold to pay for a room."

Addison shrugs. "All right then."

* * *

"Give me your shirt," Addison says. They were in a tiny room above the saloon. There was a threadbare bed in the middle of the room, a dresser, and a rocking chair in the room. The only light in the room came from the oil lamps.

Dean frowns. "Why?"

"Cause I'm not sleeping in this dress and I'm definitely not sleeping naked."

After changing, Addison climbs under the covers. Her clothes were sitting on the rocking chair and that's where he dumps his clothes. Dean slides under the covers and almost immediately she curls into his side. He pulls his arm from underneath her and wraps it around her shoulders. His other hand lightly strokes the arm sprawled on his chest. She shifts and her leg ends up on top of him, brushing against him. Dean closes his eyes and his mind goes to working on the Impala. She shifts again and he can't help but notice her breasts pressed against him. "Fuck it," Dean says, rolling over and pulling her into a kiss. Its a moment before she kisses back. His hand buries in her hair. Her leg is over his waist and he grabs her thigh, pulling it higher.

Addison pulls back. They're both panting. "Dean—"

"Tell me to stop," Dean mutters. He grinds against her and her breath hitches. "Tell me you don't want this." Addison blinks, then pulls him into a kiss. His hands easily unbutton the shirt she was wearing. She reaches into his boxer briefs and grasps his hardening member. He tugs down her satin panties, his lips trailing down her body.

* * *

Dean's hand trailing up and down Addison's back as they lay in bed. He wasn't going to deny that he had missed this. During the year that they had spent apart, he had felt like he was missing something. Something other than his brother. And it hadn't been until that first morning where he had woken up to Addison softly snoring in his ear that he had realized what he had been missing. It wasn't that he hadn't missed her and worried about her during their year apart, because he did. There were even times when he had thought about going to look for her, but his promise to Sam always stopped him.

"We should probably get up and get ready," Addison yawns, pressing her lips against his jaw. He rolls over and captures her lips in a searing kiss. His hand slides over her body.

Dean smirks. "I think we can lie in for half an hour."

Addison laughs. "Half an hour, huh." Dean slowly enters her and she moans. While the night before had been more about rediscovering each others' bodies, this was the opposite. This was more about the words neither of them wanted to say.

* * *

After picking up some new clothes for Dean, the two of them enter the empty saloon. He wore much more authentic clothes, including a leather duster. "New hat," Elkins greets.

"I look good," Dean replies. "Where's the posse?" At the blank look on Elkins' face, he nods. "We must be early."

"Ha. Or you're the only greenhorn dumb enough to go chasing after a ghost."

"What you talking about? Sheriff's tough as nails. He'll be here."

"Oh, God! The sheriff's dead," someone shouts from outside.

They run out of the saloon and find a burnt skeleton lying on the ground. "Great. Well, who's the sheriff now?" Elkins picks up the badge off the ground and wipes off the soot before pinning it to Dean's shirt. "Wait, what?"

"Well, congratulations, sheriff."

Dean and Addison exchange a look. Addison clears her throat. "Well, uh, sheriff, what now?"

"The judge was first and now the sheriff. That, what, leaves the executioner," Dean replies.

"He's also the deputy," Elkins comments.

Dean nods. "Let's have a talk with him."

* * *

The deputy turned out to be staying a few doors down from where their room above the saloon. Dean knocks on the door. "Who's there," a voice yells.

"Candygram for Mongo," Addison replies.

They pull out their guns as the door opens. The executioner had a gun aimed at them. "Howdy, pilgrim," Dean coldly greets.

"I ain't no pilgrim," the deputy replies

"All right, back up," Dean orders as he and Addison enter the room. He flashes the sheriff's badge. "Is that any way to greet your new boss?" They all put their guns away. "Missed you at the posse this morning. We were a two man wolf pack, thanks to you."

"Going somewhere," Addison asks, watching as the deputy throws clothes into a suitcase.

"Going to visit my sister," the deputy tells them.

"She'll have to wait," Dean responds.

"But if I don't-"

"Finch said he was coming back for the former sheriff, Judge Mortimer, and you. Now, that's two down and one to go."

"Then just let me go."

"Do you really think you can outrun him," Addison questions. "He's going to kill you. Unless..."

"Unless what?"

"Unless we gank him first," Dean finishes.

"Gank? What's gank? Mister, you're crazy. No way. You're on your own."

"I'm not asking you to throw down with him. I'm asking you to play your part."

"My part?"

"Yeah. Bait." The deputy's eyes widen in realization. He tries to run past them out of the room, but Dean stops him.

* * *

"Never been late in your damn life, Sam. Now you're dragging ass," Dean states as he stares at the clock in the sheriff's office. He alternated between looking at the clock and pacing around the small office.

Addison places a comforting hand on his shoulder. "He'll be here," she softly says.

"So this is your big plan, huh? Just let me rot in here till Finch comes," the deputy asks, pacing around one of the jail cells.

"Pretty much."

"Why's he gunning for you, anyway," Dean asks.

"I guess you missed the part where we hung him," the deputy replies.

Dean turns to look at the deputy. "Nah. I'm thinking to a thing like Finch, that's no big whoop. He would've just blown town, but he came back. That seems personal."

"I'll tell you what, you let me out of here, we'll talk."

"No can do."

The door closes and they turn to see Finch. "Open up that cell," he cooly demands, pulling off his gloves.

"Open it yourself. You melt people's faces off. I bet you got the juice to tear that apart easy, don't cha."

"But you can't," Addison realizes. "Just like you couldn't break out of those cuffs when they were getting ready to hang you." She grabs a small iron nail and tosses it at Finch. He catches, but his hand sizzles and he immediately drops it.

"Iron shackles," Dean says. "Iron bars, iron nail. See a pattern? Don't worry. Most creatures we meet can't get it up for iron. It's a common monster problem."

"So you're a hunter," Finch states.

Dean flashes the sheriff's badge. "Slash sheriff."

"You know what this son of a bitch did?"

"Do tell."

"I was married to a woman. Good woman, human. We lived outside of town, didn't bother anyone."

"Sure. A freak with a heart of gold."

"You wanna call me 'monster,' fine. But all we did was go into town. I go into the bank for five minutes. I come out, she's gone. And then I heard her scream. This man...had her pinned in the alley. I go to stop him, he pulls his gun, shoots me, then her. She died in my arms." Addison looks down at the ground. "Of course I don't die. The shots brought the sheriff. Next think I know, I'm in iron. That's why I want him just where he is. Trapped, scared. I saved the best for last."

"Is that true," Dean questions the deputy. The deputy remains silent in response.

"So tell me. Are you really willing to die to protect this piece of filth?"

"Honestly, I could care less about him. He's a dick and a coward."

"Hey," the deputy shouts.

"But this ain't about him. I know what you are."

Finch looks at them. "Really?"

"Yeah. So I gotta kill you."

"Well, if you know what I am, then you know you can't." Finch lunges for the hostler hanging on a pillar. He grabs the gun then shoots the deputy.

"Whoa, we should've seen that coming," Dean mutters. He grabs Addison's wrist and they crash through the window just as Finch fires a shot at them. They quickly stand up and run down an alley, with Finch firing at them. Addison groans when something hits her arm. They duck behind a building and she shrugs off her peacoat. "Ads?"

Blood was streaming from a bullet wound on her arm. "Just a scratch," Addison lies, pulling her coat back on. She notices the worried look on Dean's face. "I'll be fine once we get back to the twenty-first century."

Dean pulls out his gun and cocks it. "Dean." They turn and see Sam.

"Sam," Dean says in relief as Sam jogs over to them. "Where's Colt?"

"He's not coming," Sam replies.

"What?"

"But he sent this."

Sam pulls out the Colt. "Hello, beautiful," Dean says, exchanging guns with Sam. "All right. Come on. Go, go." The trio runs away from the hiding spot. Sam and Addison stand back as Dean makes his way out in to the main street. "Get out here, Finch!"

"What are you doing," Sam hisses.

Addison leans against Sam and he notices the dark stain on her jacket sleeve. "Ads-"

"It must be Friday," Addison interrupts. "I tend to get hurt when we do jobs on a Friday."

"Come on, let's do this," Dean shouts.

Finch steps out onto the main street. "So this is how you wanna die. Fine."

Dean and Finch each toss back their coats to reveal their guns. They stare at each other. They each pull out their guns and fire at the same time. A purplish light emits from Finch, then he goes up in flames. Finch screams as a light flashes and nothing but a pile of ashes is left on the ground. "Yippie ki-yay mother fucker."

A bell tolls. "Dean, the ashes," Sam shouts as the trio runs towards the ashes. Suddenly, they're back in Bobby's den. The older hunter was sitting in a chair with Castiel standing in front of him. Dean holds up the empty liquor bottle and sighs in defeat.

Dean stands and looks at Castiel. "You gotta send us back."

"Dean, look at him. He's fried," Sam replies, helping Addison over to the couch.

"I never wanna do that again," Castiel says.

Dean turns to Bobby. "Bobby, you—"

"I'm still kicking, Annie Oakley," Bobby interrupts. "I'll be back good as new in a decade or two."

"Ads?"

"Fine," Addison lies, pressing down the bullet wound.

Dean sighs. "And we screwed the pooch. Bobby, I'm sorry."

A knock comes from the door. Sam walks over to the door and opens it to find a delivery guy. "Is there a Sam Winchester here?"

Sam frowns. "Who's asking?"

"Look, this is nuts. Me and a couple of guys made a bet. So this thing's been laying around the office since...ever. Uh, with a note on it saying to bring it here today. It's from a Samuel Colt."

Sam's eyes widen. "Yeah. Yeah, yeah. That's mine. Great. Thanks." He takes the package and slams the door in the delivery guy's face. He walks back into the den and rips the brown paper off to reveal an old wooden box. Sam opens the box and finds the charred remains of his phone. He picks up a piece of paper. "'Dear Sam, I got this address and date off your thingamajig and I thought the enclosed might come in handy. Regards, Samuel Colt.'" Sam reaches into the box and pulls out a bottle of ashes.

"Is that what I think it is," Bobby asks.

"Ashes of a phoenix," Dean states. "You know what this means?"

"Yeah. I didn't get a soulonoscopy for nothing."

"Yes. And means we take the fight to her," Dean tells them, putting on his cowboy hat.


End file.
